Navy veteran, mother of 3, to graduate from Duquesne's law school
After a career in the military and raising three children, a local woman is about to earn a new title: law school graduate.
For Alysa Ambrose, the journey was fueled by hard work, long nights and determination.
On Saturday, she will receive her degree from the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Duquesne University.
Ambrose served as the Navy's first female commander of the USS Gravely. In 2020, after a 25-year career, the Hampton Township native retired from the service.
She moved back to the Pittsburgh area and focused on fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a lawyer.
“The added challenge for me,” Ambrose said, “is the kids come home from school, and they need to be fed, and they need help with their homework, and some of them need help with bed and bath time routines. So, I don’t really get to start my homework until 9 or 10 at night. My sweet spot for homework is the 10 (p.m.) to 2 (a.m.) range. So, not a lot of sleep. But I think the Navy trained me for that.”
During the pandemic, Ambrose home-schooled her children, one of whom has special needs. When the lockdown was lifted, and the kids went back to school, she applied to and was accepted into the Kline School of Law.
“My message to anybody would be that you should live your dreams. You should go for it. It doesn’t matter how old you are or what else you’ve done in the meantime. If it’s something you want to do, you should go for it, and you find a way to make it happen," Ambrose said.
After graduation, Ambrose will take the bar exam and begin her law career serving as a clerk for federal Judge Joy Flowers Conti, a fellow Duquesne law graduate and the senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.