Credit to Jasmine Dong

Mock Trialers work together during one of their meetings in the Learning Commons in order to prepare for their first trial in January.

Mock Trial is a public speaking competition club focused on hypothetical court cases which change every year. Zachary Walker, an attorney, agreed to become FHN’s brand new mock trial attorney coach.

“I had just a few months under my belt before I started helping FHN,” Walker said. “And I just came up on about a year and a quarter with this job.”

Bella Ingrassia, a sophomore, is one of Mock Trials’ most consistent participants at FHN. As just a freshman, she competed at the national level.

“He’s really helpful when we are writing our cases and going through, and trying to find mistakes,” Ingrassia said, “Since he’s a real attorney, he has real experience and he catches things that are sometimes easy for us to miss.”

Walker can only make it to FHN once a week, due to the far distance of driving from Saint Louis. His real job needs him there most days, but that doesn’t stop him from loving what he does at FHN.

“The kids are really bright, and so is their leadership,” Walker said. “I came in not knowing how much they would know about complicated topics, but they seemed to know a whole bunch and they are really good.”

Ingrassia claims Walker has been a great help in the short time he has helped at FHN, and that the team greatly appreciates his help.

“He can really help smooth out all our flaws,” said Ingrassia