In July of 2019, Marissa Balonon-Rosen was at a crossroads in her life. She’d just graduated from law school on her way toward fulfilling her dream of becoming a public defender.

She had her whole life set up post law school. She’d landed her dream job in New Hampshire. She had an apartment all lined up in Manchester. The only thing standing in her way was a 16 hour exam, spread across two days: the bar exam.