One year after the Nassar case, she’s become a hero

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It’s been a year since Judge Rosemarie Aquilina put Larry Nassar behind bars for life.

Today, she calls herself an “accidental hero.”

From being on the Today show to standing the survivors at the ESPYs, Judge Aquilina has become an advocate, which has made her a lot busier.

“I get asked to do motivational speaking,” she said.

Not only has she broadened her possibilities to make change, but, emotionally, she’s a bigger person.

“Talking with them maybe made me more sensitive or more grounded even about the work that really needs to be done way beyond my courtroom,” she said.”

After the Nassar case, she realized our judicial system needed help.

“Before this, I never knew how broken our judicial system was,” Judge Aquilina said.

Down the street, Michigan State University is in the midst of change as well.

After Lou Anna K. Simon resigned from MSU president after the case, John Engler was appointed as interim president.

Judge Aquilina has worked with Engler before and knew the potential he had, but said politics took over.

“We ultimately learned that he didn’t support the survivors,” she said.

Now, Engler is gone and there is a new interim president, Satish Udpa. Yet, the university is still looking for a permanent president.

“I didn’t apply,” the judge said. “There’s a search, if the search committee came to me, I’d consider it. I’ve done all the things I think would made a good choice for me to be the president.”

She’s just hoping for some real change.

We wasted a year, let’s get to it,” she said.

The judge said she’s honored people want to hear from her and hopes, one day, it will influence change in our society and judicial system.

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