To most who know him, Steve Vogelsberg appears to have a very successful and accomplished life. It may appear that he has it all figured out, but to him, his destination in life is still unknown.
Steve graduated from Potosi High School in 1990. During his time at PHS, he was a very involved student, participating in various clubs and activities including National Honors Society, forensics, class officer roles, the musical, prom court, playing three sports, and many more. After a very successful four years at Potosi, he decided to continue his education at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He graduated from UWP with a double major in criminal justice and psychology, although this was not his original plan. He originally wanted to not attend college at all; instead, he wanted to become a landscaper. Because of this, he went into college with an undecided major.
As he neared the end of his time at UWP, he decided that he didn't want to end his education there. He wanted to continue and was inspired by his guidance counselor to apply to law school. Steve applied to Vermont Law School because they had the number one environmental law program in the nation. He was accepted and decided to pack up his small-town life and move to the East Coast. When asked how he felt about this large change, he said that because he was still so young, he didn’t realize the possibilities that lie ahead.
Steve continued to be successful in his schooling at Vermont and became a Dean's Fellow, meaning he was selected to teach legal reasoning, writing, and research to first-year law students. He was also an invited participant in the Thomas M. Debevoise Moot Court Competition and made the national dean's list. He graduated in 1998 with his Juris Doctor degree and his Master of Studies in Environmental Law.
After graduating, he worked in Washington D.C. near the white house doing environmental law with trials.
He did not plan to move back to Potosi, but instead wanted to move to Alaska because of the wildlife and climate. Instead of following through with that plan he met his future wife, Angie, and decided to move back to Wisconsin to be with her.
While back in his hometown of Potosi, Steve applied and was hired to work at the local law firm in Lancaster, WI as a criminal defense attorney. As he got older, he decided to change his law focus to being a transactional attorney doing a lot of real estate work. He decided to make the change because the criminal defense work became too stressful and he wanted to do something with fewer trials as he got older. He is still working at the same law firm but has moved his way into a partner position. He now gets more, “Control [over] the things that get done.”
Even though many would argue that he is an extremely successful person and lawyer, Steve does not feel done with his life’s work. He is not sure that this is what he will be doing for the rest of his life, and in the back of his mind still holds the same dream his teenage self once wanted to pursue. Steve’s story tells people going into college that, not only is it okay to not know what you want to do, but even at the age of 51, it is okay to change your mind and want to someday pursue other options.