By Ross Balding
Most undergraduates planning to go to law school do so with the ultimate goal of becoming a practicing lawyer. Junior Psychology major Meinca Pinchinat is aiming higher, however, and her goal is to become a federal judge or Supreme Court justice.
Pinchinat has always considered herself a mediator, and often finds herself playing the role of one. The Jersey Shore native was the judge in a project for her criminal law class in high school, an experience that she enjoyed and had a strong influence on her.
“As much as I love to debate, I also love being able to hear both sides and being able to show the other side why they think the way they do,” she said, noting her friends often go to when they need to resolve their conflicts. “Especially when there’s a fight between my roomates.”
Like every judge, Pinchinat does need to work as an attorney first, and she plans to practice family law. To give herself a more educated perspective, she is planning on adding a minor in Human Development and Family Studies. Even with the added course load, Pinchinat expects to graduate a semester early in December 2019.
Another thing that sets Pinchinat apart from other Psychology and pre-law students is her desire to study law abroad, in France, where she’ll be able to graduate with a law degree after two years instead of three. Some classes will even be in her native tongue, as French law schools offer programs in U.S. law, taught in English.
“I won’t get the chance to study abroad as an undergrad; going to law school in France would give me the opportunity to do that while still in school,” Pinchinat said.
As one of her psychology courses (PSY 489), Pinchinat is involved in a research project for professor Lyn Stein that is in collaboration with the state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals. Her role is compiling data on substance abuse into charts for graduate students to use in their grant proposal.
Besides academics, Pinchinat is heavily involved on campus in many ways. She is a tour guide and a URI 101 mentor. She also serves as an event and marketing intern for the Alumni Association, and plans to intern for the Office of Admissions helping develop a new course “similar to URI 101” that is only for first generation college students. She is also the first undergraduate representative for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee in the Psychology department.
For fun, Pinchinat participates in URI Dance Company and eXposure, another student dance organization focusing on multicultural styles of dance. She is also involved in Rotaract, and a proud member of the Rhody Ruckus Fanclub for athletics.
Ross Balding is a senior journalism major and intern with the Academic Health Collaborative.