Story by Logan Jackson
Students who attend the Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA) interact with nearly all corners of the University of Missouri campus. They flex their intellectual muscles in academic buildings, enjoy games on the quad and create friendships in the Mark Twin Residence Hall.
Erin Reynolds attended the Academy in 2019. The experience served as her first introduction to Mizzou, and when the time came for her to choose a university a couple years later, the familiarity with Mizzou won out.
“I honestly wanted to attend a university out of state,” Reynolds said. “I did decide to tour Mizzou, and when I walked onto campus, all the good times I had at MSA came flooding back. Everyone was so warm and welcoming during the tour, too, and I immediately realized Mizzou was going to be the place for me.”
While the Missouri Scholars Academy helped bring Reynolds to Mizzou, it also reaffirmed her academic passions. Reynolds had long been interested in pursuing a law degree. MSA offered her the chance to explore that world.
“I’ve always loved puzzles and problem solving, specifically related to applying a set of rules to a scenario and coming up with an answer,” Reynolds said. “When I was at MSA, I got to speak with a prosecuting attorney and an individual from the Midwest Innocence Project. I knew I was interested in law at the time and MSA really solidified that.”
Reynolds has made the most of her time as a Tiger. A senior triple major – studying constitutional democracy, political science and psychology – Reynolds has been active in the Honors College and has been involved in several extracurricular activities. She has held a couple different internships, one with the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia and another with the Missouri State Public Defender.
Reynolds has also been a tutor at the Writing Center and captain of the Mizzou Mock Trial Gold team. She’s also pursuing a history minor.
“I actually came in undeclared and just kind of accumulated degrees as I went along,” Reynolds said. “I wasn’t sure exactly which degree to pursue for pre-law, but I knew law schools like seeing diverse majors. Political science made a lot of sense with my interests and would do a great job preparing me for those next steps. Someone on my floor in Mark Twain connected me with the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, and I quickly fell in love with that program. Psychology was always a background interest of mine and I had made room in my schedule to complete a minor. Once I finished, I realized I wanted to continue in those courses, and thankfully I had enough room to make it work.”
Sprinkled throughout her schedule have been several Honors courses. Along with General Honors and Departmental Honors courses, Reynolds participated in an Independent Study.
“The small class sizes in Honors were such a contrast to some of my other courses, especially during my freshman year,” Reynolds said. “My entire Honors experience has been incredibly rewarding. My favorite parts have been diving deeper into a topic I have an interest in and getting personalized feedback from amazing faculty. It’s been awesome to earn credit while studying topics in such a deep and meaningful way.”
The Honors College is where Reynolds also got connected with the Writing Center. She took the “Theory and Practice of Tutoring Writing” (GN_HON 2015HW) course as a sophomore.
“I love helping people and I thought the class sounded interesting,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t know that simply taking that class would lead to this type of opportunity. I’ve always enjoyed tutoring, and there’s something really powerful about the moment where your advice clicks.
“I think the biggest thing with the Writing Center is that we’re a safe space for students to ask questions and talk through what they don’t understand. We’re not here to judge a student’s content or work – we’re here to help however we can.”
Reynolds said there have been multiple highlights throughout her time in Columbia, and her time with the Mizzou Mock Trial team have stood out. The team competes as attorneys and witnesses for both the plaintiff/prosecution and the defense sides of a court case provided by the American Mock Trial Association.
“I found an amazing group of friends through this team,” Reynolds said. “I’ve also seen so much personal growth as a public speaker and leader. It’s just been so enriching socially, professionally and academically.”
As Reynolds prepares for the next step in her academic journey, she’s leaving Mizzou with a handful of awards. She recently earned the Elaine Hocks Memorial Scholarship from the Writing Center, was nominated as an outstanding senior within the College of Arts and Sciences and was invited to join the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Reynolds has been accepted into a handful of law schools and is currently deciding where she will attend.
“I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to go to law school, so I’m excited to begin that phase of my journey,” Reynolds said. “All of these past experiences have been building to this.”