By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
An Intellectual Property Fellow and an incoming 1L at Detroit Mercy Law School, Rachel Schulte graduated from Eastern Michigan University in April 2019 with a bachelor’s in physics and a double minor in mathematics and leadership.
“Quite honestly, like many students I’m sure, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to be when I grew up when I started undergrad,” she said. “After switching majors a few times, I settled on physics and math. I always excelled in my math and science courses in high school. I chose physics because I liked using the complex math through the study of physics and gaining a deeper understanding of how the universe works.”
After graduation, Schulte worked as a patent classification specialist for Clarivate that had a contract with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Her role was to put codes on patent documents based on the technical information included —for example, a camera and a semiconductor chip would have different codes assigned to them.
“I enjoyed being able to read all the inventions and the improvements they were going to make to society,” she said. “Working in this role helped me affirm my decision to want to go into patents.”
While her older sister Rebecca Dembinski, an attorney in the metro Detroit area, had a lot to do with Schulte seriously considering law, she made the decision to pursue law school when she realized she could combine her passions in a career field.
“Rebecca was the one who originally got me thinking about law school, mentioning my scientific background may be a good fit for patent law,” Schulte said. “After doing some research on the field, I agreed and took a few years to gain some experience working with patents.
“I always thought I would have to choose. The drive to give back to the community was instilled in me from a young age, but I was also good at the STEM subjects. When I realized I could use my talents in STEM and better society though patent law, I knew I had found a career where I did not have to ‘pick a side’ so to speak.”
Schulte is looking forward to immersing herself in the community at Detroit Mercy Law.
“During my time touring and orientation events, the school fosters an environment that encourages learning, growth, and immersing yourself in the law school and surrounding community,” she said “I’m honored to be selected for the IP Law fellowship and start my law school journey. I’m looking forward to involving myself in the law school community and give back to the community that has already given me so much.”
Schulte noted she has a wonderful support system, starting with Jacob, her husband of a little over three years, who holds a master’s degree in chemistry.
She inherited her love of science and math from her father, David Dembinski, an engineer in the automotive industry. Her mother Gale works for Girl Scouts, and instilled Schulte’s drive to give back to her community.
Believing it important to give back to what helped shape you as a person, Schulte most recently served as the volunteer finance adviser for her old sorority chapter, Zeta Alpha Chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta.
“I love being involved as an alumna and not only help the chapter continue operations but encourage young women to take on leadership roles,” she said.
In addition to holding various leadership roles in the sorority during undergrad, Schulte was drawn to the philanthropic focus of fighting hunger.
“I’m still passionate about this focus to this day, since both the city of Ypsilanti and Detroit are considered food deserts,” she said.
Schulte has happy memories of her involvement in Girl Scouts from kindergarten through her high school senior year.
“Not only was I able to participate in trips and experiences that broadened my worldview, but I was also provided with ample opportunity to give back to the community,” she said. “Looking back, I’m really thankful I had an environment that taught me women can do anything they put their mind to. Growing up in that type of environment gave me the confidence to be able to major in physics, a predominately male field.”
Schulte is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts and a Gold Award recipient, and the project she completed during senior year of high school focused on raising awareness on the importance of spaying and neutering pets and creating educational resources on that topic.
“With the pandemic, it’s been hard to get involved as a volunteer in person with Girl Scouts as much as I’d like to, but I make sure to stop every time I see a cookie booth or other fund-raiser they have going to support their mission,” she said.
A Muskegon native, and a resident of Ypsilanti during undergrad, Schulte recently moved to St. Clair Shores and is looking forward to exploring what the Motor City has to offer as she gets settled.
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