Benedictine Balancing Act

Cesar Juarez is a young lawyer in a growing and dynamic law firm. To get to where he is today, Juarez took his undergrad studies very seriously. But he also took his extra-curricular activities seriously — fishing, for example. He caught the fishing bug when he signed up for MMC’s unique “fishing and camping” elective.

“One of the best times of year to fish for walleye is the end of April and first weeks in May,” Juarez says. “That just happened to be finals week. I would work hard during the semester so that during finals, instead of cramming, I was catching walleye.”

Juarez chose to attend MMC because of a soccer scholarship, and perhaps more importantly, support from their tutoring program. Just two years before, he had immigrated from La Quemada, a very small town in Mexico, and was still learning English. “When we lived there, most of the streets were not paved, most people did not have a home phone and, of course, no internet,“ he says.

He greatly appreciated the open door policy of MMC, allowing him ample access to mentors, professors, and extra-curriculars. “Being in a few theater productions are some of my most memorable experiences at MMC,” he says.

After graduating in 2008, Juarez attended law school at the University of South Dakota and spent one year as a clerk for the state’s Unified Judicial System. Today he is with the Goosmann Law Firm in Sioux Falls. “I focus on employment law and business litigation. I help employers recruit and maintain top talent, while protecting their trade secrets and avoiding unfair competition by former employees.”

He hopes to someday become a partner in his firm. Due to his professional responsibilities, Juarez doesn’t find much time to fish but he still plays soccer year-round. Juarez’s advice to new college students is hardly surprising: get involved with extra-curricular activities. “Once you graduate you will have bills to pay and you’ll wish you were back in college. I sure do!” he laughed, “especially when the walleye are biting.”