“We’re the reviewing body before laws go to the U.S. Supreme Court so what I really like about clerking is just the intellectual challenge it presents," Renzelli said. "We are presented with complicated, but exciting issues affecting our country and the courts are on the front lines of deciding these issues.”

 

Renzelli’s work with the U.S. Appellate Court runs the gamut, she said, involving criminal and civil law issues.

 

“It’s a hodgepodge of any kind of law out there. It’s great and it’s education with regard to every aspect of the law,” she said. “Most lawyers go out and practice in a particular practice group – such as family law or commercial or employment law, but this is a mix of everything.”

 

Renzelli’s passion for law is evident and it’s a passion which was planted many years ago.

 

“I remember as early as fourth grade when my teacher at Johnson Elementary, Mrs. Doak, told me I would make a good judge,” she said. “From then on out, I just knew my skill set and personality fit well in the field of law and from then on out, that’s what I would pursue.”

 

Renzelli (and her brother) are the first generation in the family to attend college. She was on the USA Today Academic All America Team and spent time in South Africa, working on HIV/AIDS legal protection and privacy rights. While studying at University of Stellenbosch, she worked for the university’s HIV/AIDS Center where she performed a case study analyzing patient privacy rights. 

 

“I traveled to different clinics around South Africa to assess ways they could improve their services to individuals with HIV/AIDS in order to better comply with patient privacy laws,” she said. “I put my recommendations into a report and presented my findings to clinicians and law makers in South Africa.”

 

At the age of 28, Renzelli is quite accomplished, but she concentrates more on what is in store for her in the future.

 

“I have done a lot and I’m not positive about what is next, but I’m excited for that opportunity to find out,” she said. “I think what I’ve learned this far in my career is that you can’t really predict where the end path is going to be, but you put yourself on good paths which lead you to success … I’ve tried to set myself up for good things to come in the future.”

 

The daughter of Mike and Mary Renzelli, she is recently engaged to Matthew Rucker, who works as an accountant at Arnett, Foster & Toothman in Charleston.  She lives in Charleston, where most of her work takes place, but she often travels to Richmond, Va., where the fourth circuit is headquartered. She travels to Bridgeport to visit family whenever possible.

 

“I love when I’m home in Bridgeport. I love spending time with family. I’m very blessed and lucky to have family and I make it clear to everyone that I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am without them,” Renzelli said. “My brother – who is 10 years older than me – is a cardiologist and has always been an inspiration to me. I look up to him and his success. I love hanging out with him and visiting my parents and grandparents. We’re a close-knit Italian family.”