Scholarship Propels Waukesha South to State Title After “Magical” Empire Experience
Wisconsin High School Captures Professionalism & Civility Award at Nationals
In 2022, a Wisconsin school was awarded a scholarship so they could attend Empire for the very first time. Last month, they competed at Nationals as their state’s champion, capturing a Professionalism & Civility award in the process.
Winning their state’s championship wasn’t easy. But according to the team’s attorney coach, Libby Mueller, they had some help.
“I can say with certainty this team would not have won our state championship without Empire,” said Mueller. “Empire took 9 students and made them a team. A team that cheered, not only for each other, but also their competitors.”
This is the story of how Empire, and the scholarships Empire provides, helped this team secure their bid to Nationals.
Empire Chicago
At Empire Chicago, Waukesha students encountered so many talented teams. It was what they needed to start their mock trial season.
“The level of competition is on par with Nationals, maybe even slightly better,” said Reed Mueller, the team’s closing attorney. “Seeing other teams compete helped us learn what we needed to improve upon.”
But Waukesha didn’t just learn from watching their competitors in round–they learned directly from them.
Coach Libby Mueller recalled the team’s first Empire experience: a team scrimmage that she admits was “rough,” partly due to a misunderstanding of a legal issue. But Mueller was shocked to see a display of sportsmanship after the round.
A member of their opposing team approached her team and offered to help. The student, despite being a possible future trial opponent, patiently explained to the Waukesha South students how to argue the issue.
The very next day the team argued the same legal issue flawlessly. And those two students–well, they remain friends to this day.
“Those were our first experiences at Empire–competitors cheering for and helping each other”, remarked Mueller. “Trials were fierce and competitive, but students danced and sang together between rounds.”
“It was like nothing we had experienced before.”
“It was magical. It was Empire.”
Scholarship
Empire offers scholarships to assist schools in-need with the costs of attending an Empire competition.
Waukesha South High School comes from an area where 54% of students are considered economically disadvantaged and 46% of students receive free lunch.
This is not the case for other schools who offer mock trial in Waukesha County, many of which are private schools or public schools located in affluent parts of town.
Waukesha’s Empire scholarship covered their full registration fee ($2,100) and half of their hotel accommodations at Hilton Chicago.
Reflecting on the scholarship program, the school’s coach thought it was a game-changer for her students.
“Without the scholarship program, we wouldn’t have been able to afford to compete at Empire Chicago,” said Mueller.
“We are really thankful to Empire.”
Such scholarships continue to be available so that economically disadvantaged schools have the opportunity to participate in our programs.
Back Home
After Empire, the team returned to Wisconsin with new energy, motivation, and togetherness.
In fact, their Empire students became so close that they requested to stay together during the state season.
At first, their coach was reluctant because she had several seniors in their program that had not attended Empire. But what she quickly realized is that there is no substitute for courtroom experience.
“Each and every student who went to Empire had an outstanding audition for the team,” remembered Mueller. “It was clear who needed to be on the A team – my Empire crew.”
The coach’s intuition was right.
This young team proceeded to take every single ballot at their regionals and win the Wisconsin state championship.
But of greater importance, they came back to Wisconsin with new friends and new connections.
“Not only did I get the chance to develop my mock skills with some of the most talented students in the world, I was also able to connect with some amazing people,” said student Carrie Duvall.
At Nationals, Waukesha was reunited with many of their new friends, a fact that brought delight to the team.
“One of the main reasons I wanted to win state was so we could get to nationals and see so many of the friends we made at Empire," said Reed Mueller.
With that attitude, it is no wonder that the Waukesha team took home the honor that means most to us at Empire: the Civility & Professionalism Award, the only award voted on by Waukesha’s peers.
“The Waukesha South team embodies the very best of our Empire Family,” said Empire’s Executive Director Justin Matarrese.
“We are incredibly proud of the team for their accomplishments.”
Applications for the 2023 Season are open! The priority deadline is June 23.
You can learn more about our scholarships here: Empire Classic (i.e. in-person) and Empire Online.