Though Dexter Golinghorst started his undergraduate career as a pre-pharmacy student, he quickly became interested in the laws, regulations, and policies that govern healthcare and the Affordable Care Act’s effect on the industry as he continued his studies.

And, after talking with law students, meeting with the dean, and consulting with mentors, he determined law school would be a good fit, and provide him the base knowledge he needed to pursue a career in health law or government relations.

“I realized I wanted to work with people and advise them on the law and their options under it, instead of a career in pharmacy,” Golinghorst says.

During his time as a student at the University of Iowa College of Law, Golinghorst served as president of the Graduate and Professional Student Government. He also was co-president of the Iowa Student Bar Association his 2L year. Golinghorst was a member of the Pro-Bono Society at Iowa Law and worked closely with the Iowa Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division to coordinate service and networking opportunities for his fellow classmates.

Golinghorst was a legal extern at the University of Iowa Health Care and spent his 2L summer as an associate at Simmons, Perrine, Moyer, Bergman PLC in Cedar Rapids and a judicial extern at the Iowa Court of Appeals. During his 3L summer he was at the Chicago office of McDermott Will & Emery in their health group.

Golinghorst also pursued a Master of Health Administration degree, which he achieved in 2020. 

“I have loved every second of my time at Iowa Law,” he says. “It’s a tight knit community where the faculty, students, and staff all care about the success of the students and institution. I also think law school is a unique setting where everyone has their beliefs challenged each day with substantive debate about policy preferences.”