Fifty eager Cleveland-area college students recently made the trip to Columbus to the see the Ohio Supreme Court in action.

After listening to oral arguments, they got the chance to ask two justices everything from how the process works to what advice they would offer to future law students.

“All of you already have a heads up, I believe, on your competition. In college, take as many courses as you can that involve lots of reading and writing. It will make law school easier for you,” Justice Melody J. Stewart said. “While in college, study what you love so your grades will be good. Then prepare for the LSAT (Law School Admission Test).”

“When you get to law school, you will study even harder so that you have multiple doors open to you when you graduate. You can’t leave law school and become a judge. You have to practice for a while. You have to get that experience,” she said.

“I think a lot of people make the mistake of looking too far ahead before establishing a solid foundation first,” Justice Stewart said.

The visiting group included students from the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Louis Stokes Scholars program and the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Summer Legal Academy.

While the students were handed a lesson in how the Court works, Justice Michael P. Donnelly urged them to do some soul-searching while considering a career in law.

“It should not be about making money,” Justice Donnelly explained.

“This profession is just as essential to our democracy as the medical profession. Just like the medical profession, you are helping people. Lawyers help unravel what inevitably happens in life,” he said.

“We are going to get into arguments and disputes,” he said. “There has to be a Rule of Law that allows those arguments to come to the Court. We unravel what the accusation is. We ask, ‘What’s the truth?’ Once we get the truth, we can move on,” he said.

Visitors walked away appreciative of the justices’ time and their words of wisdom.

“I’m very grateful that we had the opportunity to come and speak with the justices,” said Nia Thomas, a student at the University of Cincinnati. “I’m majoring in political science. I’ll be graduating in the spring and, hopefully, off to law school for a joint program in public administration.”