Carrie Temm ’04

Carrie Temm ’04 completed law school at the University of Kansas in 2007. At Cornell she double-majored in mathematics and politics, and she says it wasn’t just the politics courses that prepared her for a legal future.

“Working through challenging proofs in my upper level math classes taught me to break things down and think about each step while keeping the end goal in sight,” she says. “This same process is used when making legal arguments, whether written or oral.  [Professor] Jim Freeman’s encouragement, patience, and dedication undoubtedly helped me succeed in math and prepared me for the challenges of law school.”

Temm also emphasizes the benefits of Cornell’s small size and liberal arts focus.

“Because Cornell classes are small and personal, I had learned to be an active participant in class and in my education,” she says. “Law school requires critical reading and a high level of analytical thinking that I had already been doing at Cornell.”

At Cornell Temm also participated in a number of student groups, including Kappa Theta, leadership programs, Cornell Alumni Student Association (CASA), and lunch buddies.

“Cornell’s emphasis on serving others had a large impact on me,” she says. “Part of the reason I decided to attend law school was to continue this tradition of serving and helping others.”

Temm is currently clerking for a federal judge in Kansas City for two years.