Chutich said, many of her mentees were young Black women and she appreciated the opportunity to talk to them about racial issues frankly and directly. She has also had some LGBTQ+ students as mentees, she said, “and I think they see me as a sign that they’re not going to be excluded from the highest levels of law at the state of Minnesota just because of their sexual orientation.” “I have always appreciated Catholic social justice efforts: helping the poor, feeding the hungry, all of those parts really appeal to me, and I like that the law school is really emphasizing the full development of people,” Chutich said. “I really resonate with the mission of the school,” she said. “It’s for the common good. It’s not just about
trying to learn to be the best litigator that you can be, it’s about using your skills to help people.” Still, when Justice Chutich was asked to join the law school’s Board of Governors in 2018, she felt some hesitation, given some of the Catholic Church’s past statements on gay people. But a lesbian friend who had served on the board before her assured her it was a welcoming environment, and Chutich said she has
found that to be true. “There is a diversity of
intellectual thought there, that I think, frankly, is a good thing for law students to
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