17-year-old Sophia Park of Tulare County has made history by becoming the youngest to pass the rigorous California Bar Exam.
Park breaks her brother’s record set just last year, reported the ABA Journal.
Notorious for its difficulty, the California Bar Exam boasts an overall pass rate of just 54%, That’s the second lowest in the country and just ahead of Virginia at 53%, according to the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
Park knew what career path she wanted to pursue from an early age.
“Criminal law just really clicked for me. I really found it interesting how the processes worked, and I wanted to work for the prosecution because I like the idea that I get to represent the people of the state of California, keep our community safe, and make sure that justice is served,” Park shared with the The Sun Gazette.
“Ever since my first year of law school I knew that I wanted to become a prosecutor, and I feel like this is the first big steppingstone towards that dream,” Park expressed to The Sun Gazette. “My long-term goal is to become a judge and potentially a Supreme Court justice, so we’ll see how things go after I become a prosecutor.”
Following in her brother Peter’s footsteps, Park will be sworn in as a licensed attorney in March 2025 after she turns 18.
While in eighth grade, Park began law school while simultaneously attending junior high at Oxford Academy in the Orange County city of Cypress. In 2022, she graduated from high school after completing the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) and from Northwestern California University School of Law in 2024.
Like her brother, she completed the College Level Proficiency Exams (CLEPS), a state bar rule in California that allowed her to apply to law school.
At 16, Park completed a summer internship at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and has since become a Law Clerk for the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office where her brother also works.
“Sophia’s amazing accomplishments speak for themselves, and we could not be prouder as an office family,” said Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward in a statement.
Park is the second of four siblings on track to become attorneys, as her younger siblings follow in the footsteps of Peter and Sophia, aiming to join them as California’s youngest lawyers.
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