Meet Gracelynn Turnbow – Hartford Union High School, Class of 2025
Gracelynn Turnbow, a senior at Hartford Union High School, has always been interested in investigating and documenting important information. One day, while scrolling through TikTok, she discovered a Paralegal influencer who shared daily insights about their job and the legal field – sparking a newfound interest in Paralegal and Legal Studies for Gracelynn.
With the help of her high school counselor, Gracelynn discovered two dual enrollment opportunities at MPTC that allow students to earn college credits while still in high school. Excited to get a head start on her associate degree, she applied for Start College Now and Concurrent Admissions. So far, she has completed 15 credits and is on track to earn more by the end of December. These completed credits are equivalent to one full-time semester, saving Gracelynn both time and money.
Since Gracelynn is a Start College Now student, her classes are held at Moraine Park’s campus instead of her high school, offering a unique schedule. “Because I am mostly doing college courses, I don’t have a typical high school class schedule.” She shared that she now gets to have a great morning routine including a workout and breakfast. “Once I am ready for the day, I catch up on studying and homework. After I’m all caught up with my goals that I planned for that day, I go to work or relax and focus on myself.”
What courses have you enjoyed the most at Moraine Park?
“My favorite class so far has been Civil Litigation. During this course, we had one specific case we based our lessons on and at the end of the course we built a trial notebook, collecting all the previous assignments and putting them together. This was my favorite assignment because it was very fulfilling to see an entire class’s worth of assignments come together to complete one huge assignment and it made me happy to see how far I came in such little time.”
Gracelynn shared her excitement for the knowledge she has gained at Moraine Park, adding that she is constantly learning new information, preparing her for her future. Set to graduate from high school this Spring, she plans to continue pursuing her Legal Studies/Paralegal Associate Degree at Moraine Park. Gracelynn hopes to secure an internship and explore additional opportunities to advance her career in the legal field. Luckily for Gracelynn, Moraine Park’s Career and Employment Services can assist with internship placement and networking events.
We are honored to highlight Gracelynn and her hard work as she continues to earn college credits at Moraine Park. For more information about Start College Now or Concurrent Admissions, contact a recruiter at recruitment@morainepark.edu.
FACTS:
- Moraine Park’s Legal Studies/Paralegal students are required to complete 25 hours of volunteering with our partner, Legal Action of Wisconsin. An organization with a mission to deliver exceptional civil legal services and structural change advocacy, free of cost, to those most in need. This experience provides our students the opportunity to receive field experience in legal cases and interact with clients, attorneys and court officials. Legal Action of Wisconsin has also hired Moraine Park students over the past 3 years.
- Moraine Park Legal Studies/Paralegal recent graduates have reported a median salary of $41,991.