Finding her Path: Gaby Marquez
Originally from Rock Hill, South Carolina, outside of Charlotte, Gaby Marquez (’23 J.D.) moved as a teenager to Washington with her dad, who was hired by the Spokane Police Department.
“It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she said. In figuring out how to transfer her school credits from South Carolina to Spokane, a guidance counselor helped get her into the Running Start program, which allows high school students to earn college credit for doing college-level work. As the child of a single parent and someone whose grades were good, but not stellar, she knew she was going to need help to make it to college.
She earned an associate’s degree at Eastern Washington University and remained there to complete her bachelor’s in political science.
“I was so happy to be there, and so thankful for the opportunity to go to college,” Marquez said. “But I wanted to figure out what I was going to do.”
A political science class turned her eyes to the law. A conversation with her “beat cop” dad sealed it. He suggested she talk to one of the attorneys in the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office.
“Within the first 10 minutes I was like a kid salivating at ice cream,” she said. “I want to be an attorney! Once again, no one is going to stop me here.”
She begged that attorney – Deputy Prosecutor Gayle Earvin – for the chance to do any kind of work in the office, from licking envelopes and mailing letters to carrying books and documents.
“It was a really cool experience,” she said of the two years she worked in the office. “I fell in love with the law.”
Gonzaga Law was the only school she applied to, and Marquez would go on to win one of the school’s Thomas More Scholarships.
“Going to law school has been the best thing. It’s changed my life,” Marquez said. “I’m so thankful for it.”
It’s easy to see that Marquez would gravitate toward criminal law. She was hired as a deputy prosecutor for Kootenai County, just across the state line in Idaho.
For her, the work is all about serving her community.