Rumancik Becomes Empire’s Director of Competition Experience

Empire Mock Trial is thrilled to announce that Amber Rumancik has joined the Empire Mock Trial Team for the 2018 season as its Director of Competition Experience (“DCE”).  

“Her experience as a lawyer, mock trial coach, mother and event planner makes her a perfect fit for the role,” said Empire Executive Director Justin Matarrese. “We are beyond lucky to add an incredible professional and an all-around amazing human to our team.”

For the past two decades, Rumancik has been involved with mock trial at all levels: as a competitor, coach, judge and even a guest speaker.

“Mock trial has shaped not only my career path but who I am as a person,” said Rumancik. “Mock trial people are my people.”

The DCE is responsible for ensuring that Empire participants have a world class experience from start-to-finish through leading school outreach, building relationships with teams and coordinating event logistics. On Competition weekend, the DCE will be the primary person responsible for interfacing with coaches, students and staff. 

“Empire is magnetic. Every competition I have attended, whether as a coach or a judge, has left me wanting more,” said Rumancik.  “The organization’s efforts to make mock trial accessible to all teams by offering need-based aid speaks to my heart.”

The organization could have written an article singing Amber’s praises, while describing her boundless energy and unwavering positivity. However, we thought that it would be more effective if you saw Amber through the eyes of those she cares about most: her children. Since her two boys (5 and 2) aren’t yet old enough to write, we are excited to have a guest writer today: Katie Shapiro. She’s Amber’s former student, current co-coach and an Empire Alum, and her words are as true as they are heart-warming.

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Introducing Amber
By: Katie Shapiro

It is my honor to introduce the Empire Mock Trial community to Amber Rumancik, Empire’s new Director of Competition Experience. I have been lucky enough to know Amber for six years now, both as an attorney coach and now as a friend and role model.

Amber is from Jacksonville, Florida and has been participating in mock trial since she was fifteen years old. Now in her thirties, Amber has a law degree from Florida State University School of Law, practiced law at Foley and Lardner, and has a husband and two young boys. Throughout all of this, Amber has never taken a year off from mock trial. She began coaching alongside her mentor and former teacher, Ed Lange, when she was a freshman in college, and now is the head coach for Fletcher High School’s Mock Trial Team. While it is true that Amber’s dedication and experience with mock trial makes her beyond qualified for this role at Empire, it is not the reason why every student that meets Amber quickly learns to love and respect her. Indeed, the amount of lives Amber has impacted over the past fifteen years as a mock trial coach indicate that there is something else going on, something very special about Amber. Maybe it is her ability to explain the most complicated rules of evidence to a high school freshman, or her uncanny ability to play every witness in the case packet. She is a fierce, brilliant-minded attorney (if you have ever been crossed by her in practice, you know this), but what’s more, she is a nurturing, funny, reliable and supportive woman.

For years now, Amber has welcomed students into her home when they asked for extra mock trial practice.

She has cooked us dinner and sat with us at her kitchen table for hours analyzing a case, never once appearing impatient or tired (a side note–Amber wakes up at five in the morning every day and still manages to have more energy than anyone I have ever met.)

She has celebrated us with cake when a member from the team makes all ‘A’s’ on their report card.

She has sat with us when we were frustrated with tears over mock trial, and then made us believe in ourselves again.

She is quick with a safety pin or hairbrush in the courtroom to save any fashion emergency.

She knows the answer to any mock trial question, ever (and most other questions too).

She has visited us when our parents were in the hospital.

She has attended our graduations.

She has lead countless teams to victory, including three first-place finishes in the state of Florida.

 

 

When asked about Amber, former Fletcher Mock Trial student Taylor Moser said, “Amber taught me many invaluable mock trial skills but the best things she taught me go way beyond the courtroom. Every day she is one of the most genuinely kind people I know and a great mother and wife while simultaneously pushing her students to be a better version of themselves by always offering a cup of coffee and advice when it’s needed or just someone to listen. You have a forever friend in Amber Rumancik.”

Current student and former Empire participant Cory Gann said, “Through all my years of mock trial, I have learned how to grow and adapt in a completely new environment thanks to Amber.”

“Amber is such a special person because she puts 115% of her heart and her energy into everything she does. Whether it is her family, mock trial, or her students, Amber doesn’t rest until everyone and everything is taken care of,” shared former student Devon Roddell.

As an organization, Empire Mock Trial seeks to mold young people into confident, respectful, culturally aware citizens. To be sure, Amber Rumancik specializes in this and will be a great addition to the Empire Family.

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We thank Katie for taking the time to share Amber’s story with us. 

Amber Rumancik can be reached at arumancik@empiremocktrial.org.