Brook Whitley’s interest in law began early, almost by chance. In eighth grade, she agreed to help her neighbor, an attorney, run ballots and hand out water at a Georgia high school Mock Trial competition. The neighbor let Brook observe the rounds, which she said she remembers thinking were “riveting. I wanted the opportunity to do what I saw them doing.”

The following year, Brook tried out and was selected for her high school’s Mock Trial team. “I really enjoyed public speaking,” she explained, “and being able to pivot on the fly.” Those simulated legal proceedings gave her a tremendous amount of confidence. “It was the first time I felt really good at something,” recalled Brook, who later made the team at the University of Georgia, where she attended undergrad.

Often assigned to the defense side, both in high school and college, Brook found herself gravitating toward public defense as a profession. Attorneys and judges who mentored Brook insisted her career would not resemble Mock Trial. “They would always say, ‘Your life is never going to look like this. You’re going to end up doing paperwork at a law firm,’” she explained. “But now I feel excited, because I found a career that does. Public defense is the closest you can get, in terms of being in the courtroom and in trials a lot.”

When choosing a law school, Whitley focused on the geographic diversity of its job placements. “Vanderbilt is a school where you can go wherever you want after graduation,” she said. That mattered to Brook, who grew up in a small town in West Georgia and was eager to experience life beyond the state. Vanderbilt, she felt, offered the chance to keep her options open.

Once in Nashville, Brook’s coursework reinforced her interest in public defense. Professor Terry Maroney’s Juvenile Justice class was particularly impactful. Though she does not think she will work with juveniles, she said the course helped her “start to flesh out the different facets of indigent defense and also better understand the problems that plague that system.”

An earlier internship with a District Attorney’s Office during college showed Brook that prosecution wasn’t for her. Working as a clerk with the Orleans Public Defender’s Office in New Orleans after her 2L summer, however, had the opposite effect. Brook reviewed body-worn camera footage, catalogued discovery evidence, drafted cross questions and a motion to quash, and assisted with client intake and client services requests. “I had a moment where I realized ‘This is absolutely what I want to do,’” recalled Brook, who discovered then how much she loved interacting with people. “My biggest fear going into the summer was working with a client whose perspective I struggled to understand,” she said, “but that wasn’t my experience at all.”

Back at school, Brook found additional fulfillment through the Immigration Practice Clinic, run by Professor Alvaro Manrique Barrenechea. “That was, by far, my best experience in law school,” she said. Representing a Venezuelan family seeking permanent legal residency was especially meaningful. “They are wonderful people and had some very frightening things happen to them in Venezuela,” she explained. Brook also thoroughly enjoyed her role on the Articles Selection Committee for the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. “I wanted the opportunity to platform certain issues that I felt like maybe weren’t being talked about,” she explained.

Reflecting on her time at Vanderbilt, Brook is quick to mention the support she received, particularly from Dean Beth Cruz. “She has been an invaluable resource for me,” Brook said. “She is really passionate about public defense and helped me realize my career goals.”

Brook is joining the Colorado State Public Defender after graduation. She is heartened by the opportunity to mitigate the destruction incarceration inflicts on families and communities, and to help uphold due process for the citizens of Colorado.

As she looks ahead, Brook’s advice to future law students is quite personal: “Always remind yourself why you decided to come to law school,” she said. “Remain steadfast in your convictions and as principled as possible to make sure you don’t lose your sense of self.”