Julia Pomerenke ’20

Social Work

Biography

I am from Nebraska, so I like to say I traveled from one cornfield to another when I left home for undergrad at Taylor University. After graduating from Taylor in 2020, I was accepted into law school at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and I am now entering my third and final year of law school.

What were some of your most valuable experiences at Taylor?

I most value my time spent with my PA (Personal Assistant, like an RA) staff in Bergwall Hall, study sessions with my social work classmates, and practices with my volleyball team. My experience as a PA exposed me to leadership I had never shouldered before. Studying with my social work classmates shaped my perspective by challenging me to weigh topics like diversity, intersectionality, and racism in my everyday life. My time with my volleyball team gave me so much joy on and off the court.

How did your classes or interactions with professors at Taylor impact your growth?

When I close my eyes, I can see the inside of all three of my social work professor's offices. I think that says a lot about my social work professors' impact on my undergraduate experience. Countless times I would walk into their offices with anxiety and uncertainty and walk out not always having an answer, but knowing I had very wise people looking out for me. My social work professors shaped me into who I am today because they nurtured my academic growth and my well-being as a human. I know my college experience would have been underwhelming without their support, intellect, and advice.

How can Taylor graduates use their unique Taylor education and its liberal arts foundational core as an asset in your discipline?

I am a social worker who is on the path to becoming a lawyer. I find that the skills I learned from social work amplify my ability to advocate for my clients in their legal matters. As a Taylor social work grad, I was taught how to interview clients, conduct group discussions, acknowledge my own biases, and learn how to advocate for clients. Those are skills I use every day in my legal profession. I will never forget the first time I interviewed a client as a law clerk because I relied on my social work skills and knowledge the entire time. Leaving the law office that day, I felt more like a social worker than I did a law clerk and that is when I realized how priceless my social work background was to my legal future. Generally, law school is teaching me the law and unique forms of critical thinking whereas social work taught me how to think from the client’s perspective and the combination is a sweet harmony.

What advice or encouragement could you provide for Taylor students in your vocational discipline?

Consider law school! I never thought law school, let alone being a lawyer, was a possibility for me. I have several learning differences which make reading very cumbersome for me, but here I am about to finish law school. It is possible, you just have to open yourself up to the possibility and learn from your mistakes. If you are passionate about social justice issues and want to be able to make practical, real-life changes for people, then I highly recommend considering something in the legal profession. If you aren’t sure if law is for you, then shadow an attorney (most nonprofits have legal counsel or a legal team), attend a law school lecture, or email me your questions! I am so happy I turned to the law because the possibilities to work with people to tackle their life challenges are endless.