As a child in Twin Falls, Alyxis Cederstrom didn’t think wrangling alligators would crop up as part of a future job.
She had entirely different plans.
Cederstrom, a first-generation college student who completed an internship at the Hawley Troxell Law firm in Boise, will earn her Juris Doctor from University of Idaho College of Law in May 2026.
Becoming a lawyer was a goal she nurtured since childhood.
Wrangle alligators? Not a chance.
“I always thought I would graduate from a law school out East and work in New York City,” Cederstrom said.
After years of being employed as a police dispatcher and earning an undergraduate degree in communication sciences and disorders, Cederstrom said she enrolled at University of Idaho College of Law — despite being accepted to other schools — because of the culture.
“It was so welcoming,” she said. “The professors were so kind. They knew their students’ names, and it was just such a supportive community."
As a law student, Cederstrom was a two-year student ambassador, a clerk at Idaho’s 3rd Judicial District and an intern for Hawley Troxell before landing a civil law position at the Boise firm. She will sit for the Idaho Bar Examination in the summer.
Professor Wendy Gerwick Couture recognized in her student the ability to quickly gauge and unsnarl a dilemma.
“Without exception, Alyxis embraces the nuances of the law with an eye on their practical implications,” Couture said.
Untangling predicaments is something Cederstrom practiced as a police dispatcher, especially when she had to find someone to handle an alligator problem in a local pond.
While dispatching, Cederstrom received a call from a law enforcement agency requesting assistance. A reserve deputy — and later other officers — reported seeing alligators in a public pond west of Nampa. She was asked to contact Fish and Game and send more law enforcement to the area.
For the next few hours, dispatchers worked to gather resources, contacting Idaho Fish and Game, the alligator reserve in Gooding, animal control and even Zoo Boise, to locate someone to help remove alligators from a pond in the middle of Idaho, she said.
It was just such a supportive community.
Alyxis Cederstrom
3L, University of Idaho College of Law
“Eventually, one of my coworkers noticed that a reptile expert happened to live nearby and reached out to see if he could respond to the scene,” Cederstrom said.
“He arrived, took one look at the pond and deescalated the situation. There were no alligators. Just very large carp.”
Tackling a problem with conviction is a trait Cederstrom will take to another level in the legal field.
“I am confident that she will be a fearless advocate for her clients, as well as a leader in the legal community,” Couture said.
Between raising two daughters, working as a police dispatcher and her law school studies, Cederstrom doesn’t spend much time pursuing hobbies, she said.
“I am an avid fiction reader,” she said. “Although right now much of my free time is spent studying for the bar.”
She attributes the confidence to reach her goal in the education she received at the University of Idaho College of Law.
“It was such a good decision to come here,” she said. “It’s a culture you’re not going to find anywhere else.”