Law Program organizers provide support across our network

The Big Shoulders Fund Law Program is in full swing at nine schools, with seventh graders preparing to argue their case at mock trials this spring.  

The program has been organized since its inception four years ago by Sharon Nelson and Morgan Hirst. Beyond their stewardship of the expanding Law Program, their journeys at Big Shoulders Fund show how our supporters’ reach can grow throughout our Big Shoulders Fund network as volunteers get more involved in and excited about our mission. 

Both Nelson and Hirst started as mentors, Nelson with the Tengelsen Scholars and Hirst through the Gallagher Scholars. The two lawyers then teamed up to launch the Law Program, modeling it after our popular Stock Market Program, to give seventh graders insights into potential legal careers, as well as to allow them to practice the critical thinking and public speaking skills that lawyers use.   

And their involvement continues to grow.  

Nelson recently announced that she will sponsor the full program for the rest of this academic year. And Hirst and his wife, Melissa, who also teaches in the Law Program, are now Patrons at St. Ann School, the school where Melissa Hirst and Nelson are currently teaching the Law Program. Morgan Hirst has also served on a school board, and both families have children who serve on the Teen Board, with the Hirsts’ daughter serving as co-chair.  

Having joined as mentors who impacted individual students, the two organizers’ time and generosity now extends to nine schools that are part of the growing Law Program; 40 volunteer program instructors, many of whom have been with the program since it started; as well as the students at St. Ann, a Big Shoulders Fund Plus school; and the next generation of Big Shoulders Fund leaders on the Teen Board!