Class of 2018, WVU College of Law
Photo by WVU College of Law.
By Blair Dowler
Berkeley Springs, WV, native Rebecca Trump has always considered the law to be an honorable professional path. After all, her father is a lawyer, as were her grandfather and great-grandfather. Her parents never pushed her in the direction of law school—she came to that decision on her own.
As an undergraduate at Penn State University, Trump studied economics and political science. After graduating in 2013, she moved to Morgantown to work on the U.S. Senate campaign for Shelley Moore Capito. As a field director, Trump organized the grassroots operations for Capito’s campaign in northern West Virginia, which then led her to Washington, D.C., to serve as a legislative correspondent for the new senator.
In 2015, Trump made the difficult decision to leave her job and enroll in law school. “As much as I enjoyed my job, I felt that if I waited any longer, I would never end up going to law school,” she says.
With the decision made to build a career around serving West Virginians, she enrolled at West Virginia University College of Law.
As a law student, Trump served as the editor-in-chief of the West Virginia Law Review, where she oversaw the publication and spearheaded the 2018 Appalachian Justice Symposium.
“We wanted our symposium to focus on Appalachia and the unique challenges our part of the country faces,” she says. “Our goal was to host an event that came up with practical solutions, and we wanted to bring together experts from a variety of disciplines so they could collaborate on ideas.”
Trump graduated in 2018 in the top 10 percent of her class, earning Order of the Coif honors. She also received the Patrick Duffy Koontz Award and two CALI Excellence for the Future Awards. In September, she will join Steptoe & Johnson PLLC as an associate with a focus on litigation.
As for trading in Capitol Hill for the Mountain State, she has no regrets.
“I love West Virginia,” she says. “I felt an urge to get out when I was finishing high school. West Virginia felt too small, and I wanted to experience something new. But the things that might bother a 17 year old are things that a 27 year old can appreciate. I love how small it is and that everyone is connected. I find that whenever I leave, I always want to come back.”
