Desirée Goodfellow Emmich

Desirée Goodfellow Emmich

B.A. Anthropology; May 2020

“I am a Bulldog fighting for the underdogs.”

For Desirée Goodfellow Emmich, the phrase is more than a clever description. It captures the path she has taken from being a Mississippi State anthropology student to an assistant public defender, where she now advocates for the constitutional rights of people who might otherwise struggle to have their voices heard.

Emmich, who earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology with minors in geology, the classics and Greek in 2020, traces her journey to her very first visit to MSU.

During the campus tour, she attended a class and received a guided tour of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology. “I left knowing MSU was the place I wanted to attend,” she said.

Her time at MSU opened doors both academically and personally. Through the College of Arts & Sciences Ambassadors program, formerly known as the Dean’s Student Advisory Council, Emmich found opportunities to grow beyond her comfort zone and met the man who would become her husband, Ben Emmich.

“Ben was a physics and math major involved in Greek life. I was an extremely introverted anthropology major not associated with Greek life,” she said. “Being part of CASA made me get out of my shell and meet people I would not have otherwise met.”

Her classroom experiences were equally memorable.

During her first campus visit, Emmich met anthropology professor Michael Holt, who later became one of her favorite professors. On the first day of one of Holt’s classes, he wrote a passage in ancient Greek on the board and offered an unusual challenge: Anyone who could translate it would receive an A for the class without needing to attend another class.

Holt said he had made the offer every year, and no one had ever successfully translated the passage. But Emmich did. She was taking Greek IV at the time.

“Being the nerd that I am, I continued to go to class,” she said.

Her MSU experience also gave her practical experience that would later help distinguish her in the competitive law school admissions process. Under the direction of faculty member Shane Miller, she participated in a field excavation, an opportunity that became a talking point during scholarship interviews.

“The fact that I had archaeology excavation experience came up during every law school scholarship interview and had a significant impact on separating me from other candidates,” Emmich said.

After graduating from MSU, Emmich attended Florida State University College of Law on a full-tuition scholarship. She began her legal career as an intern with the Public Defender’s Office for Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit before passing the bar and joining the office as an assistant public defender where she still works today.

“I am very proud of my career,” Emmich said. “Every day I argue for the constitutional rights of the marginalized. I have defended hundreds of people in court. I have successfully argued to exclude unconstitutionally obtained evidence and unqualified ‘expert’ testimony.”

Her commitment to serving others extends beyond the courtroom. Emmich and her husband spend time with their cats and look for ways to support their community. She crochets scarves, hats and blankets to donate to local charities serving people experiencing homelessness.

For Emmich, the curiosity that drew her to anthropology has never been separate from her desire to serve others. Her MSU education allowed her to explore multiple interests—from archaeology and geology to classics and Greek—while developing the confidence to follow her passions wherever they led.

That is also the advice she offers current students.

“Take a class in something you are interested in that is not associated with your major,” she said. “It is important to not become too siloed in your department and ignore other passions you may have.”

Emmich has spent her career putting that philosophy into practice. Her passion for anthropology did not limit her passion for serving people. Instead, the breadth of her College of Arts & Sciences experience helped prepare her to do both.