Career Night at The Storm King School is an annual tradition where alumni of various decades return to campus and volunteer their time to talk with our students about choosing a profession, getting into college, tips for success, and to provide highlights of their lives after graduation.

This year, Career Night hosted 10 alums representing many interesting career fields. Among them was alumna Dominique Manpel ’79, a Hudson Valley attorney, who came to share her experiences in the field of law. Ms. Manpel attended the University of Colorado and earned a BA in Political Science, then attended Pace University School of Law for a Juris Doctorate. She was admitted to the New York and the Connecticut Bars and worked as a lawyer for several law firms before opening her own law practice in 1994.  Her practice includes commercial and residential real estate, estates and trusts, and family court and matrimonial law. Several students met with Ms. Manpel and expressed their interest in her field, including a rising senior named Jordan Golding.

Jordan, a student from Jamaica, comes from a family of lawyers in his home country and has a keen interest in pursuing law in graduate school and beyond. At Career Night, Ms. Manpel and Jordan had an engaging discussion that served to further spark Jordan’s passion. As a result, Ms. Manpel extended the opportunity to continue her coaching by inviting Jordan to shadow her during an actual courtroom proceeding.

On Monday, January 13, 2020, Jordan traveled to the Orange County Courthouse in Goshen, NY, where he met with Ms. Manpel and accompanied her during one of her cases. According to both of them, their time spent in court was enjoyable and invaluable from the perspectives of an alumna and a student. “Despite a long absence from the Storm King School community, I had the opportunity to speak with students on Career Night in October 2019 and was fortunate to reconnect with my alma mater. At that time, I was flooded with memories of my time spent at the School and all of the great teachers and educational opportunities that were afforded me. My experience at SKS was so positive that it was with great pleasure that I had the opportunity for Jordan to shadow me in court,” explained Ms. Manpel following the case.

 

 

Jordan also expressed that shadowing Ms. Manpel and witnessing a real court proceeding was “very interesting and helpful,” and that the experience was even more meaningful due to the fact that he is already familiar with law as a profession. “Both of my grandparents are attorneys, so I’ve seen how law works, but I’ve never been in court, and definitely not in an American court,” explained Jordan. “I am interested in both business and law, and here [in the USA] I am able to get a degree in business and then go on to study law in graduate school.”

“The case I witnessed with Ms. Manpel was in family court–a matrimonial case. It lasted for about two hours, and there was more to be resolved on another day. Ms. Manpel spoke privately with her client as well as with the opposing counsel before the case began. Once court was underway, both attorneys asked for a conference in the judge’s chamber where I got to meet an [Orange County] Supreme Court Judge. During all the proceedings Ms. Manpel explained each situation and made sure I understood what was happening. Afterward, she also invited me to keep in contact and continue our discussions at her office in the future. I really want to thank Ms. Manpel for everything she did for me,” Jordan continued.

Ms. Manpel was equally pleased with the outcome as well as Jordan’s enthusiasm and impressive knowledge of law. “I believe the experience was enlightening for Jordan and it was my profound pleasure as an SKS alumna to participate with him. I wish him the best of luck in his future, at college, and in his pursuit of a legal profession,” she commented after the case.

Alumni from all class years and from a variety of professions are sought for the next Career Night in October of 2020.  Please contact Lynn Crevling ’72, Director of Alumni Relations, at lcrevling@sks.org or 845-458-7517.