Good People

As I will tell anyone who will listen, the great strength of our law school is its people. The events of this past weekend highlight that strength.

Two Cumberland Mock Trial Teams, coached by Mike Rasmussen of the class of 1975, were scheduled to compete in the regional of the American Association for Justice National Mock Trial Competition in Decatur, Georgia beginning on Friday evening, February 27th. Very early on Friday morning, Mike was hospitalized with a non-life threatening but very painful illness. Tracy Luke, an assistant in our Advocacy Program, immediately stepped into the breach. She packed her bags, rearranged some family matters, and went with the team to Decatur acting as Cumberland's on-site representative. She did a phenomenal job.

Sometime on Saturday, Mike decided he needed to be with his teams. He checked himself out of the hospital and had his wife drive him to Atlanta. He got there in time to see the teams he had worked to coach compete.

On Sunday afternoon, Tracy and Mike watched as a Cumberland team grabbed the regional championship.

The success of our law school is directly related to the willingness of the people who work there to sacrifice. There are no better examples of that sacrifice than Tracy and Mike.

Tracy gave up an entire weekend of relaxation and time with her family on incredibly short notice to accompany our trial teams to Georgia so she could take care of logistics while the trial teams concentrated on winning the competition. Mike left his hospital bed against the admonitions of his nurses because he wanted to be with the teams he loved so much.

It is an honor and a privilege for me to work with people like Tracy Luke and Mike Rasmussen on a daily basis. They are why Cumberland is such a unique and marvelous place.