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FEATURE
Trish Goulet briefly considered going south to
Winnipeg to attend university, but decided instead
to stay in familiar surroundings. “I did go to Keewatin
Community College, which is now the University
College of the North, and took dental assisting.”
Shortly after, she became a single mom with an
infant daughter and realized that if she was going to
be able to support her child, a university education
was simply a must. “I knew that I wouldn’t be able to
provide for us on dental assisting alone.”
Ms. Goulet entered the University of Manitoba and
completed her undergraduate degree in 2002.
She wanted to enter law school, but found herself
conflicted about the prospect.
“I had this idea that people who go to
law school must be special or super
smart, so it wasn’t something that was
at all within the realm of my reality. Like,
I’m a kid from northern Manitoba and I
didn’t personally know any lawyers. It’s
just not something I thought would be
realistically possible at all.”
But a part of her still held on to the idea. “It wasn’t
about being a lawyer so much, which sounds
odd, but I really wanted to go to law school. I
think it had to do with my being such a huge
social-justice girl.”
It would be three years before Ms. Goulet would
take that momentous step, but not before she hit
on the idea of funding her education costs through
an entrepreneurial venture she named ‘Smiles to
Go,’ the first independent dental hygiene practice
in Manitoba. “I started the company in 2005 and it
eventually grew to provide dental hygiene clinics
to forty long-term care facilities in Winnipeg.” All
the while, she continued her many roles as full-time
mother and university student.
Quelling her nagging doubts, Ms. Goulet took
action and was accepted into law school. At the
time, daughter Shakira was 10 and, three years
later with ‘Smiles to Go’ revenues and a number
of scholarships and bursaries having financed her
studies, Goulet received her J.D. By then it was time
to let the business go and to focus her full attention
on her law career.
Still pushing boundaries, Ms. Goulet applied to do
her LL.M., though once again she felt intimidated at
the prospect. “Am I smart enough to do the LL.M?
Did I get into law school through some kind of
fluke?” Once again, she confronted her doubts and
plunged forward.
So began another demanding phase of her life,
which included articling at the Legal Help Centre
on a varying schedule to accommodate her
work on her LL.M, completing CPLED, and taking
additional classes at the Faculty.
Time-management skills continue to be a large factor
in Goulet’s ambitious workload. Her secret to keeping
all the balls in the air? “Just think about one thing at a
time, whatever is most urgent, otherwise you might
have a breakdown,” she chuckles.
While she concedes that her way of doing things is
not for everyone, she says: “I’m glad I did it the way
I did. It’s only taking me three months longer to get
my call to the bar and I’ll have my LL.M. at the same
time, and along the way I’ve gained extraordinarily
good organizational skills. I’m looking forward to just
working, although I’m sure I’ll feel a little lost without
so many things going on, but I hope it will bode well
for my future employer.”
Ms. Goulet contemplates pause for what the future
may hold, not only for herself, but for all Aboriginal
candidates who are contemplating or embarking on
a career in law.
59 ROBSON HALL ALUMNI REPORT