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Her mother described her as the child who waves the banner. When she was thirteen, Sara Meerse picked out a pet kitten that was ugly and flawed. When her mother asked about her choice, she reasoned, “If I don’t adopt it, nobody else will.”

Originally leaning toward social work but then attracted to issues in law concerning child welfare, Sara chose an aggressive path through the JD/MSW program on her way to becoming a public interest lawyer. She was particularly impressed with the real-world experience of the School of Social Work faculty, feeling the need “to learn from somebody who has a source of knowledge beyond the abstract.”

A fellowship in Maine eventually led to Sara creating Kids Legal, the only children’s law project in Maine. She particularly enjoys working with teens abandoned by society. “They’re really tough kids, hardened by the system, and they know that people have given up on them. Those are my favorite kids to work with.”

Sara’s taking up the banner from her youth, and applying it to those forgotten teens as she helps navigate them toward a better life.

Sara Meerse, JD/MSW ‘96