Rocklin, Calif.- Rocklin resident, Sarah Olson has received the Outstanding Student Service Award for McGeorge Law School’s class of 2013. The award is given in recognition of the graduating student who has given the most significant service to the McGeorge community during their senior year.
The law school graduate is also an alumnus from William Jessup University where she graduated in 2008 from the university’s Public Policy program. “William Jessup University truly prepared me for law school,” Olson recalled. “In addition to the legal backgrounds of many of my professors, the service-oriented environment helped to prepare me for McGeorge. One thing that has remained with me over the years is that it is easy to serve when things are easy, but when things become difficult, that’s when it becomes difficult to serve – this is also when our service is needed the most.”
McGeorge’s Faculty Committee on Honors and Awards selected Sarah for her involvement in various organizations including serving as the Vice President of the Black Law Students Association (“BLSA”); the Vice President of the Government Affairs Student Association (“GASA”); the Secretary of the Estate and Gift Tax Planning Society; and as a member of the McGeorge Capitol Center Advisory Board.
During her senior year, Olson also joined the Sacramento County Bar Association, the California Political Attorneys Association, and the Wiley W. Manuel Bar Association. In conjunction with juggling the demands of law school, the young professional also works full time for the Fair Political Practices Commission as a Political Reform Consultant all while maintaining a grade point average high enough to make the Dean’s List each year she has been enrolled at the prominent law school.
Sarah and her colleagues also worked to increase student and alumni involvement in and around the Capitol region, a project that began during her third year of law school. The team identified and implemented strategies that effectively reached their target audience by increasing the visibility of prestigious and highly successful McGeorge graduates, linking them together, and connecting them with the next generation of political leaders from McGeorge. The group has hosted three very successful networking events for students interested in careers in and around the Capitol. This project led to her election to the GASA Board and the Capitol Center Advisory Board.
While completing concentrations in tax law and business law, Sarah saw a need and decided to take steps to fill it. “After earning the Witkin Award in Estate and Gift Tax Planning Law (an award for the top score), I was elected as Secretary of the Society. This is still a developing organization on campus, but we’ve been able to host a few events and also attend a few wonderful events hosted by the Sacramento Estate Planning Council.”
One thing is certain. Sarah Olson is proactive, changing the world for the better one step at a time. The graduate is interested in energy law, political law and tax law and hopes to represent one of those arenas in the near future.
William Jessup University
Founded in 1939 by William Jessup, the University moved to Rocklin, California, in August 2004.