Meet the Class: 1L Mikaela Smith, Led Effort to Save Her Collegiate Sailing Team
Meet 1L Mikaela Smith, who, after walking on as a freshman, was a member of George Washington University’s sailing team for four years. When GW cut a number of varsity sports, including sailing, Smith worked with the administration, embarked on a fundraising campaign, and led other efforts that helped secure the team’s future as a club program. She was unanimously elected president of the club’s executive board. This spring, the team was ranked 11th in the nation, higher than any other club team.
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Please describe a bit about your background.
I grew up in Duluth, Minnesota on the north shore of Lake Superior, where I spent a lot of time playing outside and sailing with my family. I decided to leave Minnesota to go to George Washington University for college, where I walked on to GW’s varsity sailing team as a freshman. I spent the last 4 years sailing on the east coast and working in advocacy-based internships.
As GW recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, they chose to ‘streamline’ (cut) 7 varsity sports, including GW’s coed sailing team. However, within the Intercollegiate Sailing Association, club and varsity teams compete at the same level which meant the program could continue. Following the announcement in Summer 2020, I began to work with GW’s administrators to secure the team’s future. Our final varsity year was 2020-21, and over that year I created fundraising initiatives, a website, and asset transfer plans to support the team as we transitioned to club.
In the spring of 2021, I was unanimously elected president of our now-club team’s executive board. Over the past year, I have continued to lead GW Sailing as we worked to remain competitive without the coaching or funding that our competition enjoyed. I increased our fundraising goals and alumni outreach, organized travel logistics for daily practice and weekly regattas, and attended meetings as the main point of contact for the team within the ICSA, our conference, and GW. In the fall, GW won the coed championships for our conference, competing against teams with levels of coaching and funding we could only dream of. This spring, we were ranked 11th in the nation, the highest ranked club team in the ICSA by a large margin, and we competed in two national championships! I was awarded the Purrington Award for Student Leadership from the Middle Atlantic Sailing Association this spring in recognition of my work to support the team. I am so proud of my and my teammates’ ability to keep competing and thriving through the challenges we faced.
I also spent time as an undergrad working for a political action committee called Blue Uprising. Based in San Francisco, Blue Uprising aims to get surfers and other coastal inhabitants interested in voting for people who support the climate and coastal environments. I managed the PAC’s Instagram and created a TikTok to create awareness of environmental issues. This digital outreach helped to influence the 2021 gubernatorial recall election in California.
What do you hope/plan to do with your legal education (realizing, of course, that may change during the course of your studies)?
My time leading GW Sailing and working closely with GW’s upper-level administrators and attorneys gave me an appreciation for the legal side of running an organization. At GW, I double-majored in International Affairs and French Literature which also informed my future goals. As of right now, I am interested in transactional law in the corporate sphere, potentially internationally, but I’m looking forward to exploring more during my time at Minnesota Law!
There are many law school choices. Why did you select Minnesota Law?
When I was applying to law schools, I looked mainly on the east coast where I’d spent the past four years living and sailing. However, I felt a desire to be closer to home and I started to investigate Minnesota Law. When I came to an admitted student weekend with my parents, we were struck by the sense of support and community at the Law School.
Minnesota Law strives for a diversity of perspectives in the classroom. What are you hoping to add to the mix?
I hope my experiences in advocacy and policy allow me to ask questions about the effects of laws or legal decisions that my classmates may not have thought of.
Minnesota Law as an institution emphasizes leadership. What does leadership mean to you?
I believe that leadership, at its core, is recognizing your strengths and where they line up with a community’s needs. It’s also important to recognize how you can support others to lead where you cannot.
What are you most looking forward to about being a law student?
I am looking forward to getting to know my classmates and learning about law together! I took a few international law courses at GW, but otherwise I don’t have a huge foundation, so I am looking forward to learning!
What are your hobbies/ interests?
I love getting outside and being active—I’ve talked a lot about sailing already but I also love to play soccer, softball, run, and Nordic ski! When it’s too cold or gross to be outside, I like to read, bake, crochet, and sew! I always have a few projects going at once so that I don’t get bored.
How do you like to spend your free time?
In addition to my hobbies, I love hanging out with friends. I’m an extrovert and I always love going on adventures and getting to catch up. I’m looking forward to exploring Minneapolis and getting to know new friends!
What's a favorite inspirational quote, book, or personal hero you would like to share?
I really love this Kurt Vonnegut quote: “I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, if this isn't nice, I don't know what is.” It’s so easy to get caught up in school or work and forget that you’re enjoying this period of your life, so I try to be intentional about recognizing how much I love the life I’ve chosen to live.
What's something interesting about you that others might not know about you?
I’m bilingual! I speak English and French fluently, and I love learning languages so I’m currently working on getting better at speaking Romanian. I spent the past year writing a French thesis about the feminist response to female stereotypes in France.
Anything else that you’d like to share?
I’m a big fan of Minnesota winters so I’m excited to share that passion with classmates who didn’t grow up in this great state!!
