Jamie Zheng and Gloria Clark, two students attending Brenau University, have been friends since the first day they stepped onto campus, and the two conflict resolution and legal studies majors scored big wins at the recent 15th Annual Mock Mediation Tournament.
The event, held at Brenau’s Gainesville campus Oct. 6-7, is designed to help educate, nurture and prepare the next generation of effective mediators.
For Clark, a future in mediation wasn’t always the plan.
“When I first came to Brenau, I was a nursing major,” said Clark, a junior conflict resolution & legal studies major from Decatur. “But I met Jamie on my first day, and I told her I was really interested in being a lawyer, but my mom wanted me to be a nurse. Jamie said, ‘You need to do what you want. Have you thought of conflict resolution as your major?’ She explained it was a pre-law major, and I could go to law school with it, so I joined up. We’re really good friends and I wouldn’t be following my dreams now if it wasn’t for her.”
Twelve teams from six colleges and universities participated, including four teams from Brenau, one from Butler University in Indianapolis; one from Clayton State University in Morrow; two from Principia College in Elsah, Illinois; three from University of North Carolina at Charlotte; and one team from Wheaton (Illinois) College.
Zheng, a senior business and conflict resolution & legal studies major from Suwanee, earned the Overall Award, the tournament’s highest individual honor. She also came in second place for top mediator and in the top ten for top advocate/client pair, with Clark as her partner. Zheng has been participating in the mock mediation tournaments since she was a freshman, thanks to the encouragement from her residence assistant, who was on the mediation team.
“I went in there, and it happened, and I fell in love with it,” Zheng said. “You get to work with many students with schools from across the country, and it’s a huge learning curve. You learn so much about dispute resolution processes by doing this.”
Cierra Franklin, a sophomore mass communications major from Albany, also won honors, earning second place in the top advocate/client category, third in top mediator teams, fourth in top advocate/client teams and eighth for top mediator. She was another recruit into the mediation tournaments by Zheng, and this is her second year of competing.
“Practicing in the competition, I’ve learned so many things about myself,” said Franklin. “I’ve learned that I am stronger than I thought I was. I’ve learned how to be a better communicator, and I’ve learned how to advocate for myself and other people.”
Other Brenau students who participated were:
Jessica Jarrett, a sophomore conflict resolution & legal studies major from Dahlonega who placed fifth place for top advocate/client teams and in the top ten for top advocate/client;
Taylor Ramos, a sophomore history & political science major from Braselton who placed third for top mediator teams and fourth for top advocate/client teams;
Sha’Kym Holland, a freshman English major from Savannah, who placed fifth in top advocate/client teams;
Diamond Wood, a junior nursing major from Decatur;
Bridget Tiller, a senior conflict resolution & legal studies major from Gainesville;
Jasmine Rolle, a sophomore conflict resolution & legal studies major from Lithonia, who placed first in top advocate/client and seventh in top mediator.
