Andrea Rosenkranz (WCAS11)

Even though many juniors in college are still seeking their place in the world, Andrea Rosenkranz (WCAS11) is pretty sure she has found hers.

"I suppose when I was little I wanted to be a cowgirl," she says with a laugh, "But other than that, I've always been drawn to practicing law."

After her high school graduation in 2008, Rosenkranz interned at a law firm in her home city of Miami, Florida. There, she worked with lawyers in the field of medical malpractice defense. She especially enjoyed working on depositions because of the intense research they involved. "As a lawyer, your work is the same, but the cases are always changing," she says, "You're always learning something new."

And learning new things was definitely what Rosenkranz had in mind when she first came to Northwestern. As a freshman, she looked forward to all of the things that make Northwestern unique: a beautiful campus complemented by the changing seasons, proximity to a diverse, major city, and a rich, interdisciplinary curriculum. Even though the University had provided those experiences to Rosenkranz, she found there were a few more surprisingly rewarding moments — like the time she had to get up at 3 a.m. to guard The Rock in the freezing cold for a good cause; or the time she danced until dawn for a deserving charity during the University’s Dance Marathon.

"Community service was always important to my family," she says, "I love to see how Dance Marathon, a student-run organization, erases apathy that you often see on campus.  Every single person who gets involved is so hard-working and devoted."

In addition to having participated in both service events, Rosenkranz serves as president of the Northwestern Class Alliance (NCA), as well as vice president of her sorority, Delta Delta Delta. She stresses the importance of staying open to new opportunities in college: "I wasn't as gung-ho about trying Greek life in college as some of my friends, but now I can't imagine not knowing the people I have met, whom I might never have met otherwise."  Although finishing her term this year as president of NCA will be bittersweet, she is proud of what they managed to accomplish — everything from helping students find jobs and internships through the Alumni Connection Series (ACS) to organizing a campus-wide favorite event, Day at Wrigley Field.

In the future, Rosenkranz hopes to continue serving the community-at-large through pro-bono work as a lawyer.

“Last summer, I served as a clerk in a court of family law…to be in the midst of divorces and custody cases every day was pretty jarring.” And although she sat in on many types of cases and gained invaluable insight into the processes of law, she discovered that medical law was what really interested her.  Plus, she is sure her father, who is a doctor, will appreciate it.

"My parents have always supported me in anything I wanted to do," says Rosenkranz. "Studying law is an interest of mine, but it's also a way of giving back."

 

Posted April 6, 2010.