History of UARK Undergraduate Mock Trial
WHERE IT ALL STARTED
The University of Arkansas Mock Trial Program was established in 2015 by Corey Anderson and Katelyn Admire Sholk. They started the Undergraduate Mock Trial Program when they were both first year law students at the University of Arkansas School of Law. At the time, there was nothing offered by the university remotely like mock trial; therefore, the Undergraduate Mock Trial Program was created. They both felt that mock trial was essential and valuable to their own decision to attend law school, so they wanted to share that experience with others.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
The Undergraduate Mock Trial Program at the University of Arkansas has grown immensely in both members and competitive nature since 2015. At that time we had around 15 members, but, currently, our program consists of around 45 members with a diverse amount of majors, years of mock trial experience, and future career plans. To date, our program has won 4 SPAMTA Awards, 51 Outstanding Witness Awards, 64 Outstanding Attorney Awards, 26 Program Awards, and 1 All-National Award. Additionally, our program has qualified for the Opening Round Championship Series Tournament every year since 2015. We qualified for the National Championship in 2023. We can not wait to see what the future holds for our program and its members on our road to another Nationals!
Katelyn Admire Sholk
Corey Anderson
Corey is a Graduate of the University of Georgia and received his J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 2017. He currently works as a Deputy Prosecutor at the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office. Although most of his job consists of striking plea deals, some of the crimes he prosecutes result in jury trials – which he says can be the best part of the job. The main goal of his work is to ensure justice for individuals affected by crime, while simultaneously making the community a safer place to live.
Corey is very well versed in mock trial as he has been both a competitor and coach for 16 consecutive years. In total, Corey has been a competitor in mock trial for 11 years and has served as a coach for multiple mock trial programs for 7 years – at some points doing both at the same time. He has coached at the University of Arkansas Undergraduate Mock Trial Program for 4 of those 7 years.
Mock trial has the ability to tremendously impact lives. Corey believes that if it wasn’t for mock trial, he would not have become a lawyer. His time in high school, undergraduate, and law school mock trial furthered his passion for the law, the activity, and sharing this experience with the next generations. His favorite mock trial memories are walking to the tab room after a really close round and seeing a double win. Doesn’t matter if it’s at ORCS or an invitational, making those memories is always top tier.
"I would not have become a lawyer if not for mock trial, that I know for sure."
A SPECIAL THANK YOU FROM THE 2023-2024 EXECUTIVE BOARD
Katelyn Admire Sholk & Corey Anderson have impacted a countless number of undergraduate students here at the University of Arkansas since establishing this program. They have offered each member the opportunity to compete, learn, and grow in the UARK Undergraduate Mock Trial Program. Majority of our program has been coached by both of them, and they have given members endless amounts of knowledge, advice, and wisdom that we would not be able to gain anywhere else. The members of our program here at the University of Arkansas can not thank them both enough for all of the time, effort, and energy they have poured into this program and its members. Every member, whether they joined in 2015 when our program was established, or if their first year of mock trial was 2021, can not thank them enough.
Thank You
