March 1, 2004

Law School Visit Puts Engineering Student On Different Track

Scurry sits atop a castle in Segovia, Spain. (Photo: submitted)

For Natalie Scurry, the road to law school has followed a curious path. Navigating through four years of a challenging chemical engineering curriculum at North Carolina State University, Scurry already has taken several detours — through Spain (twice), Ghana and the Dominican Republic. But as far away as these study abroad programs took her, a simple side trip to Chapel Hill is what really changed her course.

When Scurry visited a Law School open house at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill last year, it was an eye-opener for her. Approaching the end of her college career, Scurry had begun to wonder if a professional career in the manufacturing industry — a likely choice for chemical engineers — was what she wanted to pursue. “I interned for four summers with the same company,” she explained. “My first two summers I was in sales and loved it. And then I interned in manufacturing and did not. So I recognized early — I definitely did not want to be in a plant.”

A mock class held during the open house brought her new inspiration. Law requires a different way of thinking, she realized, “but you have to use the same critical and analytical skills that you learn in engineering.”

Soon after the open house, Scurry had settled on her new direction. While she could have a promising career in the manufacturing industry if she chose to, her interests now pointed her down a different path, one leading to a law degree and eventually a career teaching law. This path is not unlike the one traveled by her Aunt Pat, a former teacher and current lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Scurry admitted her Aunt Pat may have unwittingly influenced her at an early age. “She gave up money to teach. She gave up money to go back to school. She wasn’t always thinking about where she was going to find the money, but rather where she wanted to go. That way she was able to figure things out, and now she loves what she does. I’m hoping to mimic that.”

After taking the Law School Admission Test last year Scurry received letters of interest from some of the top law schools in the country, including Harvard and Stanford. “I could not have been in this position without the lessons I learned as an engineering major,” she said. “The work load really kept me grounded and gave me a kind of work ethic that I can’t imagine I could have gotten any other way.”

In addition to meeting the curricular challenges, Scurry also has taken full advantage of the support and opportunities available within the College of Engineering. She is a four-year member of the university’s National Society of Black Engineers chapter and is currently serving as its president. She is a former tutor in the Young Scientists program and a current mentor in the START (Student Advancement and Retention Teams) program. As a Caldwell scholar, she has received stipends for summer study abroad programs that have no doubt broadened her cultural and intellectual horizons, and likely improved her appeal to prospective law schools.

The combination of experiences has been critical to her present success. “In engineering, one of the things you learn really quickly is that you have so many options in what people think you’re capable of,” she said. “So even though I wanted to pursue a career that wasn’t in my major, there was this understanding of the kind of background that I have in order to get that kind of degree. People immediately have the idea that this person can handle whatever we throw at her.

“The engineering degree gives you so many options that you may not know about,” she said. For Scurry, options are key. “If you’re not sure what you want to do with your life, then make decisions that allow you to make more decisions later.” Scurry noted that one of her fellow engineering students and friends is applying to medical school, and another is pursuing a career in public policy. Like her, they have benefited greatly from their engineering education at NC State. And like her, they recognize and appreciate the choices that are now available to them.

Although graduation is just around the corner, Scurry has more “detours” planned — Ecuador this spring and South Africa in the summer. Still, she knows she has one more important decision to make — which law school she’ll attend next fall.

“The verdict is still out,” she grinned.

— pishney —

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