The Basics
Name: Priyanka Junankar
Hometown: Wayne, NJ
Class Year: 2017
Favorites Class at Bucknell: probably MIDE 302, Design Realization with Professor Bean
Spot on campus: study rooms in the Commons
Place you’ve been: either the Maldives or Switzerland, way too hard to pick
Book: Game of Thrones
Movie: The Dark Knight
Song: uh that’s tough, probably Dark Fantasy by Kanye
Instagram or Snapchat: Snapchat always
So you founded the Mock Trial team here at Bucknell, can you tell us a little bit about it and what inspired you to start it?
When I was deciding on schools and visited Bucknell I was actually told that Bucknell did have a team and that definitely factored into my decision to come here. Once I got to campus the next Fall, I realized that there had only been an attempt to start a team. A couple of students were attempting to start the team and held a few meetings a semester. The team was not officially recognized and could not compete at all that semester. Towards the end of the year I asked to get more involved with helping to ensure there was a real team for the following year. Somehow that turned into me being President very quickly.
What has been the most challenging part?
Although it’s been a lot of fun and very rewarding, I have definitely faced many challenges throughout the past three years. My first year was by far the most difficult. We had started with a full exec board who I could have delegated administrative work out too when we got too busy. Unfortunately, I soon found myself to be the only remaining member of our Executive board. This was really challenging since after that I was not only running meetings but also doing nearly all of the administrative work on my own. There was a lot of paperwork for the American Mock Trial Association and through the school that ate up a lot of my time. I also had to spend a lot of time reaching out to other Universities to find out about tournaments and set up scrimmages. The first year was also so difficult because I had never competed in a mock trial tournament before in my life. I was leading a team of 10 students but had no idea what we were supposed to be doing. I would run practices every week on material that I had just self-taught myself a couple of hours earlier. It really was the blind leading the blind, but hey it worked out (somehow)!
You have recently been awarded mock trial attorney of the region, (congrats!!!!!) can you explain the role of attorney?
So in Mock Trial there are two roles a team member can take on–either attorney or witness. In August of each year AMTA (American Mock Trial Association) releases a case packet with about 160 pages of case-related materials. The material includes legal information (case law, rules of evidence, stipulations, etc.) witness statements, and exhibits that can be entered as evidence. So witnesses are required to learn their witness statement and be prepared to respond in character to questions during trial. The attorneys must be prepared to give a direct examination of one witness from our team, and a cross examination of one witness from another team. Attorneys must be very familiar with all of the legal intricacies as they must be prepared to make objections and argue them effectively. Additionally, two of the three attorneys on a team are involved in delivering a statement (one an opening statement and one a closing statement). This past semester I did a direct, a cross and a closing. The closing statements are 9 minutes of speaking to the judge/jury in which you explain the facts of the case and why they should rule in your favor.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned from being involved in mock trial?
I don’t even know where to start with this one. I have learned so much from being involved with this team that I don’t think I can pick just one thing. I have of course learned so much about public speaking, confidence, quick thinking and teamwork throughout our tournaments and competition. As the President I have learned time management and how to be 100% dedicated to something. Having founded the team made me so willing to go above and beyond to ensure our success. I had never been so prepared to make such large sacrifices for something until this team.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Well I will be working at Accenture next fall so I don’t plan on going to law school immediately after graduation. However, I definitely hope that by ten years from now I will have gone to Law School and received my JD. I hope to eventually be working in patent law, specifically in technology!