Hometown: Fresno, California
Undergraduate: California State University, Fresno
Major: Criminology

Since running around the house pretending to be an FBI officer as a kid, Nikole McQuillan’s interest in criminal justice has been a lifelong pursuit. Turns out, she’s also a pretty good shot.

Beginner’s luck or fate might describe McQuillan’s first experience at the firing range. Realizing her dream of a career in law enforcement was more than child’s play, her dad took her for lessons prior to her freshman year of college. She recalls, “It was the first time I shot a gun in my life, and I unloaded the whole magazine right on the X in the center of the target. The man giving me the lesson thought it was a joke!” Later, when she returned to her apartment, her dad had hung the target just inside her front door as an "Intruders Beware!" sign.

A Fresno native, Nikole grew up playing sports, including soccer, swimming and water polo – the latter on a club team at Fresno State that went to the national championships every year. Nikole was accepted into the Criminology Honors Program at Fresno State and was hired by the Criminology Department to serve as the honors research assistant.

She also did a three-year internship with the Madera County District Attorney’s Office, and one-year internship with the Fresno County Gang Task Force. She originally intended to apply for the FBI after graduation, but loved her internship at the DA’s office and decided to become a prosecutor instead. To prepare, she joined the Fresno State Mock Trial Team and competed for three years. She won the Outstanding Attorney Award at the 2007 American Mock Trial Association Regional Competition in Southern California.

Niki chose Pacific McGeorge “because it seemed like a community and not just a school. When I was visiting other schools, none of them seemed as interested in the students as McGeorge.” The trial advocacy program was also a strong factor in her decision because it would serve her goal of one day becoming a district attorney. After graduating from law school, she hopes to return to the district attorney's office in Madera and specialize in the prosecution of gang and organized crime cases.