Denise Donnelly Mills

Since 1980, I have gotten a bachelors of arts from Friends University and graduated from Washburn Law School. I have been practicing law since 1990. But my life changed the most when my husband and I started our family. My daughter was born during my last year of law school. My sons were born 5 & 6 years later. My daughter graduated from North in 2007, my sons are still in high school. I have often been called a soccer mom. My daughter played soccer for North and Friends University. My boys are both competitive soccer players. They are playing soccer for Northwest.
I currently have my own law practice in Wichita. My areas of practice include: Juvenile Court, Immigration Law and Criminal Law. My practice is small and is called "The Law Office of Denise Donnelly-Mills". It is a lot of hard work, but certainly better than having a boss to report to.
Although being an attorney has been quite fulfilling, have to say the best job I have ever had is being a mom. There is nothing like watching your son play t-ball and think he hit a home run, or standing at the soccer goal to keep your son from playing karate with imaginary friends instead of playing goalie. Then there was my daughter who went to a gymnatstics meet and got a yellow participation ribbon. She thought it was a "Gold" ribbon. One of my proudest moments was watching my daughter give the commencement speech when she graduated from North High in 2007. I have to admit, over the years my children have not always been angels either. I have replaced my share of windows, repaired my car a couple of times, and even scolded my sons for TeePeeing their middle school.
It has been 30 years since we graduated from high school, and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. It seems like the last 30 years have been filled with school, work and kids. In three years, my youngest son will be starting college, and I will no longer have to worry about their grades, go to parent teacher conferences, or make sure they get their assignments in. I'm really going to miss all of that work. It's almost like graduating from high school again. I can't help but wonder, what direction my life will take in the next 30 years.

One of my favorite memories was the night several of us girls teepeed East High School. It was awsome: We wrote on the cafeteria windows with shaving cream, put war paint on the statute in the front of the school, and decorated the trees in front of the school. However the best part, was at Senior Celebration, when it was long forgotten. Mr. Gidrey called us to the front of the group, and told EVERYONE what we had done. Years later, I was working on a criminal case and went to North to interview witnesses. Mr. Gidrey was there. During our meeting, he reminded me of the time I vandelized East High! The man has an incredible memory.