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Hometown: McKinney, TX
Education: Attended the University of Texas in Austin for nursing school. Moved to Iowa post-nursing school to get hands-on experience as a trauma nurse.
What are you involved in at Dedman Law?
The Tsai ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ for Law, Science and Innovation as a Tsai Scholar, the Child Advocacy Clinic as a student associate and a chief counsel, managing editor of the ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Law Review, a legal writing fellow for the Dedman Law Legal Writing Department, and a member of the Barristers service organization.
What did you do prior to law school?
Brooke was a practicing nurse for two years and left nursing in 2022. She still holds her nursing license.
Why the interest in a career change?
Brooke decided to change careers around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic because she got interested in healthcare policy and those that were making these policies.
As a nurse, she would refer people to various services once they came to the hospital. For example, when working in the pediatrics department, she’d refer children to the Iowa Department of Family Services if she was reporting suspected abuse and would wonder who on the other end is working in the best interest of the children, i.e. lawyers, more doctors. Sometimes she would see the same children she recommended to Iowa’s CPS back in the hospital with the same caregivers and would wonder why they were back and what happened that brought them back to the hospital.
She saw elderly patients and would flag and report if they were dealing with general neglect from their caregiver by looking at their wounds, identifying if they’d been sitting in the same chair for a long time, and if no one’s been taking them to the bathroom.
She also was able to serve as a liaison between the doctors and her family when her grandfather was ill because she knew the medical language and was able to interpret the healthcare issues related to his will to her family. She felt like she made an impact on her family through that process.
The experience of flagging and reporting suspected abuse of children was what inspired her to join the Child Advocacy Clinic so she could see who’s helping children that are neglected from the health and human services side.
What did you do as a member of the Child Advocacy Clinic?
Brooke and the clinic students represented children in court who were in the foster care system and had just been removed from their household while their parents retained parental rights during the ongoing investigation. They also represented children who were living in foster care or living in a group home/facility because their parent’s parental rights had been terminated. They made sure that the children’s needs were being advocated for i.e. healthcare needs, education needs, accommodation needs. They also conducted investigations by contacting the family members of these children to learn more about what led to the children being separated from their parents.
“Hands-on experience puts clients in a different light than just reading a textbook,” said Brooke. “When you understand what these kids have gone through, you realize how you impact them, their future and their families.”
Any similarities you’ve seen between nursing and child advocacy?
Yes! As a nurse, you are an advocate for servicing your patients, and it's the same as a lawyer, you’re the voice for your client. I got to do a lot of that as a nurse and advocate for my patient’s needs, and now as a student lawyer, I’m advocating to the court what my client needs. Also, confidentiality and trust are very important to both client groups.
What do you do in your free time?
In her free time, Brooke and her husband play pickleball, go on walks around their neighborhood, and go to the movies. She also makes pottery and reads books for fun.
What are your post-law school plans?
Brooke will be working at a law firm in Dallas that does healthcare litigation and regulatory work.