Born and Raised: One Chicagoan’s Journey to Northwestern Pritzker Law

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law attracts students from across the United States and around the world. This year’s class, for example, hails from 37 U.S. states and 10 international jurisdictions, with students speaking a wide range of languages and representing a variety of cultural, professional, and educational backgrounds.

But some students didn’t have to travel far to begin their Northwestern Pritzker Law journey. As a lifelong Chicagoan, Nastasya Muller (JD ’26) grew up only an El or bus ride away from the Law School, attending Chicago Public Schools (CPS) for high school. This enabled her to receive the Robert Parillo Scholarship, a scholarship established in 2014 through the generosity of alumnus Robert “RP” Parrillo (JD ’66) to provide scholarship support to Law School students, with a preference for students who have attended CPS for at least four cumulative academic years. “Growing up here, Northwestern has always been on my mind and a dream of mine,” said Muller. “It feels great to be recognized and supported as a born-and-raised Chicagoan who navigated the challenges and rewards of a CPS education.”

Indeed, Muller can trace her dream of becoming a lawyer back to her years at Jones College Prep, a high school located in the city’s South Loop neighborhood. There, she participated in the school’s inaugural pre-law program from 2013 to 2017, in what is now part of the Career and Technical Education program. Students enroll in law-focused courses in conjunction with their regular classes, take part in mock trials, and participate in internships at law firms or government offices across the city. Muller interned at Hurst, Robin, Kay & Allen LLC, a small firm that specializes in family law, which she describes as her first hands-on introduction to the practice of law. “I don’t have lawyers in my family,” said Muller. “I didn’t know lawyers, so [my experience at the family law firm] opened my eyes to [the fact that] this could be a career for me.”  

Muller earned her bachelor’s degree in finance at the University of Illinois Chicago and, like many Northwestern Pritzker Law students, took time to work between college and law school. She worked in the finance department for Kirkland & Ellis for nearly three years, first as a billing assistant and eventually as a senior billing coordinator. “At some point along the way, I thought, maybe I could stay in finance. Maybe I could do more things in this space.” But law school remained on her mind, and when one of the firm’s partners, Northwestern Pritzker Law alumnus Kelly Ryan (JD ’98) asked her if she’d ever considered going to law school, “that felt like a push to just go for it. He really encouraged me.”

So far, Muller’s law school experience has surpassed her long-held expectations. “I’ve met incredible people, some of the smartest people I’ve met in my life. It feels amazing to be in this environment and to experience even the hard days.” In addition to her coursework, she serves as treasurer of both the Women’s Leadership Coalition and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. She hopes to continue to advocate for animal welfare pro bono after she graduates. These experiences have contributed to what Muller views as the most rewarding thing about law school: “I’ve realized that the law is so big and profound, and it covers so many things. A lot of the time, it feels like you can’t change anything, but studying and being in class, you see there are people able to move the needle.”  

Another rewarding aspect of Muller’s experience has been seeing current CPS students walking the halls as part of CPS Law Day or other programming for local students at Northwestern Pritzker Law. “Seeing CPS students tour the Law School makes me think about how that early exposure really sparked everything for me. Without the program, it would have taken longer to explore law school as an option for my future.” Her advice to current CPS students considering a career in law is to focus on the present so that they have myriad options in the future. “You don’t have to know exactly what your path to law school will look like. Find your passions along the way…because you’re not just a student, you’re a whole person. Always do your best work, you never know where you’ll find a connection.”