A 17-year-old prodigy has created historical past by turning into the youngest particular person to move the California State Bar Examination, making her a practising lawyer within the state. Sophia Park’s achievement eclipses the document beforehand held by her older brother, Peter Park, by three months.
On November 8, 2024, Ms Park realized she handed the bar examination taken by over 8,000 candidates in July. She was 17 years and eight months previous when she sat for the examination, leaving her brother of 17 years and 11 months behind. “I’m very blissful and excited,” she mentioned in a family-uploaded YouTube video.
In accordance with a New York Occasions report, the California State Bar Examination is thought for its rigorous requirements, with just below 54 per cent of the candidates who tried the examination in July clearing it.
Ms Park’s achievement was additionally introduced by her employer, the Tulare County District Lawyer’s Workplace. “Sophia’s superb accomplishments communicate for themselves, and we couldn’t be prouder as an workplace household,” mentioned Tulare County District Lawyer Tim Ward.
Sophia Park accomplished highschool, faculty and legislation college in an accelerated timeline of roughly 4 years, by superior on-line programs. Starting legislation college at 13 in 2020, Ms Park juggled her research alongside attending junior excessive at Oxford Academy in Cypress, California. By 2022, she accomplished highschool, having cleared the California Excessive Faculty Proficiency Examination (CHSPE). In 2024, she earned her legislation diploma from Northwestern California College Faculty of Regulation.
In accordance with the NYT report, Ms Park, like her brother, utilised a provision in California legislation allowing college students to enter legislation college by passing School-Degree Proficiency Exams (CLEP), bypassing conventional undergraduate necessities.
At 16, Ms Park gained sensible expertise by a summer time internship with the Los Angeles County District Lawyer’s Workplace. Since 2024, she has labored as a legislation clerk for the Tulare County District Lawyer’s Workplace.
Ms Park will begin as a practising legal professional in March 2025, when she turns 18 and is sworn in as a licenced lawyer. She plans to affix the Tulare County District Lawyer’s Workplace as a prosecutor, following in her brother’s footsteps.
“As a prosecutor, I’ll work to see justice served and make sure that victims’ voices are heard,” she mentioned.
