Liberty Law graduate discovered her calling to the legal field after terrifying car accident

Hannah Noeske (’22, ’25) had a passion for politics in high school, leading to a regional field director position at the age of 19 in President Donald Trump’s first campaign run, but it was a serious accident that guided the Liberty University School of Law graduate to her true calling: advocating for others in the legal field.

In Noeske’s senior year of high school at Liberty Christian Academy, she was on her way to school when she was involved in a four-car pileup. She sustained multiple injuries from the accident, including severe whiplash and scoliosis that caused a misalignment of her hips. She was not the at-fault driver.

“It was very difficult being in that position where you are actually the client,” she said. “You think, ‘I don’t know how to assert myself or advocate for myself in this scenario.’ We hired local attorneys who were incredible, and that gave me the perspective that law is a lot more than just what you see on TV.”

She had to undergo over a year of physical therapy and chiropractic care, and while she recovered and the legal matters in her case continued, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in international politics and policy from Liberty as she originally planned. But her skills in persuasive writing and passion for being a voice for those who can’t speak for themselves only grew. Now with firsthand experience from the accident, she considered law school after graduating.

“I got to live through it, and that’s really what kicked in my desire to want to go to law school. I was so grateful for that experience, even though it’s a very hard thing to go through, and I had a lot of injuries.”

Noeske was offered full scholarships to multiple universities for law school, including Liberty Law.

“What persuaded me ultimately was the faculty and staff here, the lawyering skills program, the faith-based aspect of the law (school), and knowing that this was going to be an incredible community to be a part of,” she said.

Noeske married her husband, Frederick, last summer just two weeks after representing the United States in the International Negotiations Competition in Amazonas, Brazil. A few months later, the couple learned they were expecting their first child. Noeske will be 38 weeks pregnant when she walks the stage in Liberty Law’s degree presentation ceremony on Saturday morning. Despite the challenges of planning a wedding, getting married, and carrying her first child while attending law school, Noeske said it has all been rewarding.

“Especially having a little girl, I want to be a good representation for her on what hard work looks like and what the Lord can do,” she said. “Personally, I’ve grown so much in just having patience for myself and others but also challenging myself. Overcoming those challenges and being so supported at school has been great.”

She said the Liberty community has supported her the entire way, from the compassionate faculty who have an open-door policy to her classmates who have been a “sweet” community for her.

“There’s a lot of people here (at Liberty Law) with young families, and getting to connect with them and walk together through this season of life has been so wonderful,” she said. “The faculty are also very, very understanding, and even during finals they said to me, ‘How can we support you?’ ‘Let me know if you need anything,’ and ‘We’re going to make sure you have everything you need to be successful.’ That’s been great to me.”

In addition to representing the U.S. on a world stage, Noeske’s accomplishments during her three years in law school include winning regional and national negotiations championships and the Yugo Collins Excellence Competition and the ADR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Alternative Dispute Resolution (Liberty awards). As a member of Liberty Law’s Constitutional Litigation Clinic, Noeske worked on an amicus brief for the United States Supreme Court in the case Mahmoud v. Taylor. She participated in multiple student-led organizations, such as the Federalist Law Society and Women’s Law Society. Noeske also assisted with coaching the ABA Negotiations team this year and judged the 1L and 2L/3L negotiations tournaments. She completed an externship and internship with Yugo Collins Law in Roanoke and is a developmental specialist for the nonprofit Jon Thomas Consulting.

Noeske said as she embarks on her career and motherhood, Liberty’s mission of Training Champions for Christ will continue to resonate.

“One thing I’ve learned here is that if it’s Christian it should be better. Liberty has really encompassed that,” she said. “If you talk about Training Champions for Christ, my experiences, especially my professors but also my work environments, have shown me how to be vocal about my faith and represent what a Christian is supposed to be like.”

Noeske plans to take the bar exam in February to become a licensed attorney and continue her advocacy work.

“I don’t think I imagined being so involved (in law school) or having so many accomplishments, but I think that is largely due to Liberty encouraging me to pursue those opportunities,” she said. “Walking out of law school, which has brought so many incredible blessings, we can talk about my academic achievements or awards I’ve gotten, but walking out married, having a little girl on the way, and knowing I’m about to finish law school, that’s so much more than I could have ever imagined.”