School of Law Ambassador
Michael Henderson, 3L
- Hometown: Pickerington, OH
- Undergrad Institution: Denison University
- Major: History and English
- Email: mjh6q3@mail.missouri.edu
The day I rolled onto Mizzou’s campus for the first time, it was late in the evening, but the temperature gauge in my car was still claiming it was 99˚ outside; I was alone, exhausted, having just driven the eight hours from Columbus, OH to Columbia; I didn’t know a soul around; and as I stepped out of my car, I remember immediately feeling, and thinking, this is where I want to go to school. That indescribable it feeling Mizzou exudes, and the home it offers to its many and varied students and faculty, is what I hope, and feel confident you will connect to when you decide to consider the University of Missouri School of Law.
I went to a small, private, liberal arts college for undergrad, so a sense of place and community are important to me in a school setting. Attending law school at Mizzou really is a group effort; the students get along well with one another, the faculty – every faculty member – is interested in aiding and enriching each student’s time here at Mizzou, and the school affords the opportunity to attend a nationally competitive law school which values quality of life, quality of education, and fair play as much as competition and class rank.
Culturally and geographically I am pretty much an Ohio boy through and through. I spent most of my years growing up in Pickerington, OH – a southeast suburb of Columbus – and I attended Denison University, in Granville, OH, as an undergraduate. At Denison I double-majored in History and English, and was a member of The Delta Chi Fraternity. After Denison, I was a middle school teacher for a year, in my hometown of Pickerington. While I loved teaching, having the chance to attend law school, an ambition of mine for many years, and having found in Mizzou the connection that I was looking for in a new home and new three-year adventure, I traded in the title Mr. Henderson for the title of student once again. As a third year student, I look back at the time and think it seems like yesterday I was seeing Mizzou for the first time, and I am confident I made the right choice when choosing a law school.
Here at Mizzou I have been involved in The American Constitution Society and Phi Alpha Delta the last couple of years, and now spend a good amount of my time actively serving the Missouri Law Review, for which journal I am currently serving as Senior Note & Comment Editor. This coming year, I will also be a teaching assistant in a Legal Research & Writing seminar for 1L students.
I wish you the best of luck in your law school search, and I truly hope you can find a home here at the University of Missouri School of Law. If you have any questions whatsoever, big or small, here or there, please feel free to email me at