From Trent University to Ontario’s Top Court 

Frank Nasca ’11 (Champlain College) gets dream job after being awarded the gold medal for top GPA at law school 

September 25, 2023

Following a transformational Trent experience, Frank Nasca ’11 (Champlain College) has gone on to earn the gold medal for top GPA at their law school and land their dream job at Ontario’s top court.  

Nasca is working as a Judicial Law Clerk with the Court of Appeal for Ontario and, this term, will be clerking for the Honorable Michael H. Tulloch, Chief Justice of Ontario. 

“I am incredibly fortunate to have been selected by Chief Justice Tulloch,” Nasca says. “The Chief Justice is an exceptional jurist and mentor, and I have already learned so much in my first few weeks working with him.”  

The Chief Justice’s diverse career experiences have created a rich clerkship for Nasca. 

“Chief Justice has served on the bench for more than 20 years and brings experience as a public prosecutor and a lawyer in private practice, but beyond this, Chief Justice Tulloch is also a trailblazer,” Nasca says. “He is the first Black judge appointed to the Court of Appeal and the first Black Chief Justice of any province. As a transgender person, I’m inspired by Chief Justice Tulloch because presently there are no openly transgender judges sitting on a provincial Superior Court or Court of Appeal anywhere in Canada. I hope that I can one day follow in the Chief Justice’s path and can bring my unique views and experiences to the judiciary.” 

TRENT LAYS FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS 

Nasca earned their undergraduate degree at Trent and remained at the University to earn an M.A. in Sustainability Studies, with a focus on Urban Planning and Active Transportation.  

“My fondest memory of Trent is the exceptional relationships I was able to develop with faculty,” Nasca says. “I loved attending undergraduate school at a small university that was focused on excellence in undergraduate education. I particularly enjoyed learning from professors Dr. Dan Longboat, Dr. Nadine Changfoot, and Dr. Stephen Hill.” 

After deciding to attend law school, Nasca says their Trent Experience allowed them to easily identify and make connections with mentors.  

“The casual learning atmosphere and close connections between faculty and students at Trent allowed me to have the confidence to approach people in positions of relative authority and to foster meaningful mentorship relationships with them,” they said.   

ACADEMIC TALENT AND COMMUNITY BUILDER 

Nasca graduated from law school with 16 medals including the IFLS Vanguard Award (for research, writing, and work discussing the intersection of the law and access to transgender healthcare in Ontario), and other awards related to civil liberties, access to justice and administrative law.  

In addition to their academic talent, Nasca has contributed significantly to the Peterborough community through the ReFrame Film Festival, Peterborough Tool Library, Gender Journeys Trans ID Resource as part of Pro-Bono Students Canada, and volunteering to bike with visually impaired cyclists. 

“I lived in Peterborough from the time I arrived at Trent right up until June 2023, so I will always have strong connections to the Peterborough community and to Trent,” Nasca says. “One day I hope to be able to give back to Trent financially to help support students and to pay forward all of the financial support Trent provided to me throughout my undergraduate and graduate studies.”