Professor Peter Wasemiller (Law ’82) has referred or recommended several students to law school. Among them: Raquel Chavez (3L), Maranee Forsyth (2L), Darren Stemwedel (Law ’12), Kelly Campbell (4L), and Samuel Kyllo (Law ’97).
Peter Wasemiller (Law ’82) has for 40 years fulfilled a lifelong desire to work in higher education. He has served as both an administrator and college professor throughout his career. His decision to enroll in law school was based on the hunch that a robust academic background (right up there with medical school) could help him to realize that goal.
Pryor to 2015, when he was appointed to his current role as Program Director of Paralegal Studies at Fresno City College, he taught a wide range of classes including business and ethics law, political science, non-profit organizations, human resources, and even a class within the school of natural sciences. At his undergraduate alma mater, Fresno Pacific University, Peter served at various times as head of alumni relations, human resources, and grants and research, in addition to the teaching.
Such an illustrious career in education deserves recognition on its own merit, but we wish to acknowledge another aspect of the impact Professor Wasemiller has had, on the legal community.
As an inspirer of dreams and encourager of goals, Peter has motivated, guided, compelled, and recommended numerous undergraduate students toward law school. Several of them have ended up here at SJCL, and their success stories are an inspiration.
“It was my Con Law professor, Mary Louise Frampton, who was a Harvard graduate and a legend,” Peter says, “who kept telling me I was an academic. She said she saw it in me, which helped me to understand the extra value of a law degree.” Having worked as a clerk in a law office during school, Peter says he realized he enjoyed the research and investigative parts of law more than what he saw the attorneys doing.
Peter says his favorite teaching subject is Intro to Paralegal Studies because it covers a lot of territory, but on the surface, to provide an overall understanding of the legal system. “I’m here to stamp out legal and judicial ignorance in America!” he says. “For most people, their knowledge of the legal system comes from the TV show “Law and Order” and the elementary school videos “Schoolhouse Rock!”
Peter likens the job of a paralegal to that of a nurse in the medical field. “I tell (my students) to think about the people they will be helping – to realize they can’t take this job any less seriously,” he said. “Your legal clients are scared, afraid of the unknown, and going through a crisis. Even the attorney can’t tell them how it’s going to come out. It’s serious business.”
During our current Alumni Appreciation Campaign to recognize graduates who have encouraged students to pursue their own law career dreams, we salute and thank Professor Peter Wasemiller. He, and his fellow SJCL alumni who, like him, take the time to notice and guide those students who may not realize their own potential, are the driving force behind each new entering class of law students.
We know there are many SJCL alumni out there, just like Peter Wasemiller, who are encouraging and motivating would-be attorneys to consider law school. Please let us know if you were inspired or otherwise encouraged to enroll in law school by an earlier graduate. We want to hear from you, and to thank them for their contributions to the career dreams of students, and the health of the local legal community! To share your story, complete the brief form here.