Courtney Yamagiwa '26 can point to the moment she knew she wanted to shape policy from the inside. As an undergraduate advocating for better school conditions in her rural Modoc County hometown, she saw firsthand how crumbling infrastructure can dampen student success.

"If you're in school and you're in a room where the ceiling's falling down, you're probably not going to want to go to college if that's been your experience the whole time," she explained.

Nevertheless, that experience set her pursuits in motion. Now a student at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law and president of the Student Bar Association, Yamagiwa is writing policy, connecting with lawmakers and gaining experience to turn her passion into real impact.

Her journey illustrates why McGeorge earned the No. 1 national ranking for government law in 2025 — tied with New York Law School and the University of Pennsylvania — in preLaw Magazine.

The ranking underscores how McGeorge's Sacramento location puts students at the heart of California government, offering opportunities and a vast alumni network for those drawn to public service. 

The Sacramento Advantage 

"I remember being shocked by how many McGeorge people are in and around the Capitol," Yamagiwa said. "It was enlightening to get those different perspectives and talk to different people." 

At her first Capitol event, Professor Erin O'Neal, director of McGeorge's Capital Center for Law & Policy, offered Yamagiwa a global perspective that reframed how she thought about California's influence.

While many assume Washington, D.C. is the heart of policymaking, O'Neal explained that California often leads on the international stage.
Yamagiwa witnessed it first-hand during a 2019 internship with the German federal parliament.

"Policymakers in the German Parliament would say, 'Oh, you're from California?' and then go on about what policymakers did in California and what California is doing," she said. "They wouldn't always talk about the U.S. They'd talk specifically about California." 

Professors like O'Neal are teaching global and local perspectives, shaping how McGeorge students study the law — and eventually learn to create it.

"McGeorge is the Capital's law school. We have an unmatched alumni network working in and around the Capitol," O'Neal said. "Students in McGeorge's Capital Lawyering Concentration study with professors who have extensive experience in government law and policy, and our Legislative & Public Policy Clinic provides our students with the opportunity to not just learn the law, but help to shape it, while in law school."
 

Empowered to lead

Yamagiwa is pursuing the Capital Lawyering Concentration, a 14-unit program focused on practical skills for careers in public service. The program goes beyond theory to hands-on policy writing experience.

Through McGeorge's California Initiative Review, she co-authored an analysis of Proposition 2, the $10 billion K-12 and community college facility upgrades bond that voters approved in 2024. That was a full-circle moment for Yamagiwa, whose motivation for policy work had been to advocate for improved student learning environments.

"I want to be that person who can go and write that bill, or the person who's there making the decision on whether that bill has passed or not, not just the person on the out-side," she said.

Ready to serve

The school's emphasis on public service and mentorship creates opportunities for students that extend far beyond the classroom. Yamagiwa's externship with Judge Carla Baldwin '03 in the District of Nevada, a McGeorge alumna also from a small town, created a personal connection that will last through their careers.

"I'm seeing perspectives I wouldn't normally get of what judges think and what happens behind the scenes," Yamagiwa reflected. "I feel like I'm a better person for having had that exposure."

With graduation approaching, Yamagiwa knows where she is headed.

"I want to run for public office," she declared. "I want to be the person making the votes and speaking directly to senators, legislators and governors, not just as an outsider or lobbyist, but as one of their peers and colleagues."

Her journey from small-town advocate to future policymaker illustrates McGeorge's distinctive approach to building leaders who don't just practice law but who are actively helping to create it.

In a state that influences policy worldwide, that distinction matters. And for students like Yamagiwa, it's the difference between watching change happen and making it happen themselves.