{"id":1629,"date":"2025-12-05T15:45:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/?p=1629"},"modified":"2025-12-08T19:13:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T19:13:22","slug":"you-cant-argue-with-the-success-of-westconns-first-all-female-moot-court-team-to-qualify-for-the-american-moot-court-associations-national-championship-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/2025\/12\/05\/you-cant-argue-with-the-success-of-westconns-first-all-female-moot-court-team-to-qualify-for-the-american-moot-court-associations-national-championship-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"You can\u2019t argue with the success of WestConn\u2019s first all-female Moot Court team to qualify for the American Moot Court Association\u2019s National Championship Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(l-r):

(l-r): Julia Meadows and Grace Parkosewich, WestConn\u2019s first all-female Moot Court team to qualify for the American Moot Court Association\u2019s National Championship Tournament.<\/p><\/div>\n

Grace Parkosewich and Julia Meadows, seniors at Western Connecticut State University<\/a>, combined their research and oratory skills to succeed at the Eastern Regional Tournament of the American Moot Court Association<\/a> (AMCA) last month. As the most successful of four WCSU teams that competed in the November 21-22 competition at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts, Parkosewich and Meadows will travel next month to the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in Memphis, Tennessee, to compete in the preliminary rounds of the AMCA National Championship Tournament<\/a> (NCT).<\/p>\n

Their mentor and coach, WCSU Associate Professor of Justice and Law Administration Thomas A. Miller, JD,<\/a> likens this accomplishment to another high-profile collegiate tournament. \u201cI cannot overstate the significance of this accomplishment,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThe NCT is the moot court equivalent of the NCAA Division I basketball tournament. Like that tournament, the NCT is made up of four regional brackets that compete in different locations across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parkosewich, of Seymour, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies<\/a>. Meadows, from New Milford, will graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing<\/a>. Parkosewich is a member of the Wolves Softball Team<\/a>; while Meadows is the Vice President of the university\u2019s Western Marketing Association<\/a>. Both students intend to take the LSAT with the goal of attending law school, and neither knew the other until they met last spring in one of Miller\u2019s Moot Court classes.<\/p>\n

Meadows explained that despite her Marketing focus, she had thought about the prospect of law school one day and wanted to test herself to see if law-related topics were truly of interest to her and if she could present a case the way a lawyer would. Conversely, Parkosewich saw Moot Court as a tool to help her break out of her shell by \u201cgoing out on a limb\u201d and stretching her comfort zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know anybody at that first meeting,\u201d Parkosewich said, \u201cBut I fell in love with Professor Miller\u2019s course and content, and being part of a team. Along the way, my competitive nature clicked in, and it\u2019s been a really positive experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WCSU's

WCSU’s Moot Court team at the Eastern Regional Tournament in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.\u00a0Back row (l-r): Gianna Ruby-DaSilva, Olivia Burroughs, Minhee Mok, Alexa Jones; front row (l-r): Justin Shapiro, Julia Meadows, Grace Parkosewich, Yaritza Santana-Jimenez<\/p><\/div>\n

Meadows, Parkosewich, and fellow Moot Court team members Yaritza Santana-Jimenez, Justin Shapiro, Gianna Ruby-DaSilva, Olivia Burroughs, Alexa Jones, and Minhee Mok, meet regularly with Miller to learn the process and develop their skills. Assisting them are brief writers, oralists, and volunteer coaches like alumni Vincent Trombetto and Nakita Singh. Also supporting the team is alumnus Mason Peragine, who was part of a team that secured a berth in the national championship tournament for WestConn\u2019s Moot Court team in 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Parkosewich and Meadows said they had both heard about the team\u2019s success three years ago. Meadows said she found it inspiring that WCSU students could compete at that level against Ivy League and larger institutions. Parkosewich added, \u201cHaving someone like Mason who has succeeded like that and is coaching us now is a huge asset.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the eve of their first-round match against Holy Cross last month, Meadows said she was extremely nervous and couldn\u2019t get through her argument, despite Parkosewich\u2019s reassurances and encouragement. Miller said it brought him back to the 2022 tournament, when Peragine had a \u201cbad practice,\u201d yet surged ahead to earn a national berth. \u201cIt\u2019s a pattern for us now,\u201d Miller said. \u201cA rough practice is good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"(l-r):

(l-r): Julia Meadows and Grace Parkosewich, WestConn\u2019s first all-female Moot Court team to qualify for the American Moot Court Association\u2019s National Championship Tournament.<\/p><\/div>\n

Meadows and Parkosewich soundly defeated Holy Cross, the University of Connecticut and Framingham State University in the first three rounds of the Eastern Regional Tournament. \u201cThey won every ballot and every round,\u201d Miller proudly stated. \u201cConvincingly. It was not close.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on their success, Meadows said, \u201cProfessor Miller prepared us very well. Our practices were much harder than the actual competition. It strengthened my public speaking skills and built my confidence.\u201d Parkosewich added that her main takeaway was learning to control what is within her control. \u201cIt\u2019s based on the judges\u2019 perception of you. Failure is okay because you can process it and get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, up to this point, the Meadows-Parkosewich team has not experienced much defeat.<\/p>\n

Meadows said, \u201cI\u2019m slightly shocked we keep winning.\u201d Parkosewich quickly said, \u201cI\u2019m not surprised.\u201d Miller added, \u201cI\u2019m not surprised, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller elaborated, \u201cWinning is nice, but being with good people is better. Julia and Grace have a big sister-little sister relationship. I love their dynamic and the way their personalities mesh. Grace is a tough competitor; she\u2019s edgy. We call her \u2018The Winter Soldier.\u2019 Julia is very knowledgeable and is the ice queen. They\u2019re the best Gen Z has to offer. They lead from the top, pick others up, and never look down on people. They are what I want my daughter to grow up to be like. They\u2019re just good people, and they do the right thing even when it\u2019s not the easy thing. I\u2019m so proud of our first all-female team to qualify for the NCT.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WCSU's

WCSU’s Moot Court team flanked by their assistant coaches at the Eastern Regional Tournament in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.\u00a0Back row (l-r): Nakita Singh, Gianna Ruby-DaSilva, Olivia Burroughs, Minhee Mok, Alexa Jones, Vincent Trombetto; front row (l-r): Justin Shapiro, Julia Meadows, Grace Parkosewich, Yaritza Santana-Jimenez<\/p><\/div>\n

Miller added that WestConn\u2019s \u201csuperpower\u201d is its culture. \u201cThe students we have, the time and emotional commitment that they put into this, makes it an honor to spend time with them, and it\u2019s not surprising that this was WestConn Moot Court\u2019s most successful year. We had four teams competing that had a shot, and all of them finished higher than UConn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parkosewich and Meadows attributed much of their success to Miller. \u201cHe\u2019s very encouraging and dedicated,\u201d Meadows said. \u201cHe always lifts you up. He puts so much time into this, organizing everything and bringing in alumni.\u201d Parkosewich agreed, and said, \u201cHe\u2019s been such a remarkable mentor in my life. Not just as a professor, but as a person. He\u2019s inspired me to work harder and do better. He gives us a positive mentality and work ethic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both students expressed their belief that Miller has taken them to the next level. \u201cBy inspiring us to join Moot Court, he created this new version of us to be confident, strong women. He\u2019s a strong man that believes in us,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Another benefit has been the relationship the students have developed with each other. \u201cThis experience has truly brought out a friendship with me and Julia,\u201d Parkosewich said. \u201cShe\u2019s someone I\u2019ve gone through these hard things with.\u201d Meadows added, \u201cGrace always pushes me to expand upon my argument, and she always lifts me up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students will have plenty of togetherness as they prepare for the next round of competition on January 24-25 in Memphis. Assuming they continue their win streak, their final stop will be at the University of Kentucky School of Law in Lexington, Kentucky, on February 21 and 22, for the final rounds.<\/p>\n

The plan is to practice every weekday between now and then, which begs the question, \u201cAre you getting sick of arguing the same thing<\/a> over and over again yet?\u201d Simultaneously, and with conviction, they both said \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t argue with that.<\/p>\n

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To support WestConn\u2019s Moot Court program, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals, and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.<\/em><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grace Parkosewich and Julia Meadows, seniors at Western Connecticut State University, combined their research and oratory skills to succeed at the Eastern Regional Tournament of the American Moot Court Association (AMCA) last month. As the most successful of four WCSU …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":1630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[87],"class_list":["post-1629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-stories","tag-moot-court"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}