Baby steps to the Bar at UNB’s faculty of law
Author: Tim Jaques
Posted on May 17, 2024
Category: UNB Fredericton
Marie Olson-Cuthbertson entered the University of New Brunswick’s (UNB) faculty of law early in her pregnancy.
Her husband Cameron Cuthbertson, a soldier, was away training and she was contending with one of her three dogs suffering from a brain tumour. In her first semester, she reached a breaking point.
“I was very overwhelmed and very sick. And I called my mom: ‘I cannot do this. So please, please come help,’” Olson-Cuthbertson said.
Her mother came from Alberta and with the support of other family and friends, she continued her studies.
“I ended up just fine. I just needed a few moments to gather my thoughts.”
Initially drawn to social work, Olson-Cuthbertson had attended UNB’s Renaissance College.
“I had left Rennaissance College very sure I would be a social worker. I went on to Anglophone School District West to become an experiential learning coordinator. Then came a long process of realizing I did not want to do social work,” she said.
She enjoyed the policy aspects of her work and found attractive job offerings that required a law degree. She entered law school thinking of working for the Crown but soon realized she was interested in civil litigation.
Luna Cuthbertson was born during exam week in her first year, although Olson-Cuthbertson had deferred her exams in anticipation. She had also missed the last week and a half of classes because of discomfort from her pregnancy, but she says she found support at the law school. She wrote the exams when Luna was six weeks old.
When classes resumed in the fall Luna was four months old. Her in-laws in Oromocto helped and her husband would take Luna with him to work. She sometimes would take Luna with her in the mornings, and other students would take her “on little tours of the law school” while waiting for class to start.
When Luna was about six months old, a professor took Luna so Olson-Cuthbertson could attend class without the baby. Later, she would sometimes take Luna to class with an iPad and a backpack of colouring books and snacks.
“We would just sit in class, sometimes less quietly than others,” Olson-Cuthbertson said.
Olson-Cuthbertson’s husband was deployed to Latvia late last year. By then, Luna was in full-time daycare and Olson-Cuthbertson could rely on her established support network. Her mother helped by coming during the reading week so that Olson-Cuthbertson could study.
“If I had a night class, we had friends who would come over and watch her for me,” she explains. “And my parents made a point to come and help when they could.”
Despite the challenges, she fondly remembers her time at law school with a small child.
“Just watching Luna run around the law school is always fun. When she was under a year old, I was working at the library and she napped behind the library desk while I worked or studied. I have these sweet pictures of her sleeping on the library floor.”
Olson-Cuthbertson graduated this year. She is articling with a local firm and plans to establish a general practice, focusing on family law and civil litigation “like a small-town lawyer.”
Her message is to persevere and stick with your plan.
“As long as you want it, you’re going to figure it out,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to call on people when you need help.”