Spotlight - Pam Crawford

 

 

Pam Crawford

Third-year student

 

Realizing A Dream

 

 

For many individuals Walt Disney is the one who makes dreams come true.  For third-year law student Pam Crawford, she is realizing her dream at the University of North Dakota School of Law. 

While attending an undergraduate orientation session with her youngest son, Crawford was moved by a bit of advice offered to the new students by UND Geography Professor Doug Munski.  He said, “The University of North Dakota is a place where dreams can come true.”  After hearing his advice, she noticed the Law School banner that hung on the stage of the auditorium.  During a break, Crawford wandered over to the law building, stood in front of the building for several minutes and took the first step to realizing her dream of becoming an attorney. 

She walked through the door for the first time that day to pick up an admission packet, filled it out, took the LSAT exam and eagerly anticipated the response.  In March, she received a thin envelope from the law school.  “I assumed because of how thin it was, it was a rejection letter, said Crawford.  Her husband, who encouraged her pursuit of law school, opened it with her.  Before she opened it he said, “Just remember, whatever it says is what is meant to be.”  It ultimately was the letter she had been anticipating – welcoming her as a member of the UND Law School Class of 2010. 

The timing was tough because she had just started a good job at the North Dakota Department of Transportation and it also meant she would leave her husband behind in Bismarck because of his job.  Crawford said, “I didn’t want to give up my job, but I decided I would regret more not trying than to give it a whirl.”  When she arrived on campus that fall the circle was complete.  One day in search of a study room in a building across from the law school, Crawford ran into Dr. Munski, met him for the first time, told him her story and thanked him for motivating her to pursue a dream.

Prior to attending law school, Crawford earned an undergraduate degree in medical records administration from Carroll College in Montana.  She worked in medical records in Seattle, prior to moving back to Bismarck to begin a long career working at the North Dakota Department of Health and Department of Human Services.  When in Bismarck she met her husband and together they raised two boys. 

When she announced she was returning to college, her family was very surprised.  “My husband has been very supportive.  I call him the wind beneath my wings, but he says it is more like the boot in the behind,” Crawford joked.  Her oldest son often calls her to “make sure she is doing her studying and staying out of the bars.”  She is feeling a bit of role reversal during those conversations.  While her family was supportive, many others thought she was crazy to begin a law education at her age.  “They said I would never get a job and that I was insane for doing this.  Most thought I should be thinking of retirement and doing nothing, but I am just not that way,” she said. 

Her transition to law school was challenging.  She was concerned about having been out of school for so long and law school is a whole different approach to education.  In addition, she quickly realized that the majority of her classmates were the age of her children, and three of them were personal friends of her boys.  However, it is the students who have helped her realize success in law school.  Crawford affectionately refers to her classmates as “the kids” and appreciates how supportive they all have been.  She said, “They have treated me as one of their own and they always include me in everything, but I don’t go out and party with them very often because they don’t start until 9:00 at night!” 

Over the three years, Crawford has taken full advantage of all the law school has to offer.  “I have had lunch with the North Dakota Supreme Court Justices and observed them in session.  I have been exposed to so many areas of law through attending the extra speakers who lecture at the school, and I am impressed with how supportive the alumni are to the students.  They help us and mentor us.”

Crawford was selected to participate in the Legislative internship program through the school so she spent a semester in Bismarck working with the North Dakota Legislature.  While there she worked with the house education committee and house natural resources committee.  She worked with the Tribal Judicial Institute at the law school and is currently doing an externship with Legal Services of North Dakota.  She earned the highest grade in the Professional Responsibility class and was recently awarded the Randy H. Lee Memorial Scholarship.     

As she nears graduation, the realization of her dream to become a lawyer is almost complete.  Crawford is unsure of what she will do with her law degree, but whatever it is; she wants to make a difference.   “I truly believed Dr. Munski when he said dreams can come true here.  Now the law is in my blood – I have a base of knowledge and I look at things differently.  I want to use that knowledge to make a difference for others.”