Joshua Anderson considers Oct. 13, 2008, as one of the highest points in his life. That’s the date when the 2001 Enumclaw High graduate discovered he’d passed the bar exam.

“I received the nod in October,” he said. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Anderson’s journey toward becoming an attorney has been arduous.

After his high school career, which included playing wide receiver and cornerback for the Hornets, he headed south to the University of San Diego and earned his bachelor of arts in political science and a minor in history in 2005. A scholarship to Gonzaga University in Spokane followed, where he studied law for a year before returning home to friends and family.

“I missed western Washington too much,” he said.

He continued his studies at Seattle University School of Law and graduated cum laude with his juris doctorate on May 18. But arriving there took determination like he’d never before faced. He referred to that period as “a trying time.”

“This whole year has been a big roller coaster,” he said. “I lost one of my best friends in April. Right after that, I graduated from law school and had to study for the bar – seven days a week, eight to 10 hours a day. I took two to three days off during my whole bar studies. It was the intensity; Monday through Sunday. It was studying almost every day.”

He took the bar exam July 23.

“There was so much writing on it – so much time, so much energy,” he said. “I’d given so much and didn’t want to let myself or anyone else down who had been pulling and praying for me.”

With the exam completed, Anderson, 25, took time to head for the sun and surf of San Diego and proposed marriage to Elizabeth Lampe. She said yes and the couple plans on marrying in April.

Then came the long wait for the exam’s results.

“It was the longest wait of my life,” he said. It didn’t help that his mail had been inadvertently placed in another mail box. Finally, Anderson searched the Internet on Oct. 13 and found out he’d passed.

At that point, he knew the pieces of the puzzle – the years of devoting so many studies toward his passion – had all come together. He’d arrived one step closer toward accomplishing his dream.

He opened his first law office in December after finding a prime corner location near Safeway in Bonney Lake that had been long-occupied by Debbie Mortell’s Farmer’s Insurance. His initial focus is set on personal injury but that may expand as he feels more comfortable.

The journey has been long but Anderson doesn’t regret his efforts and said he looks forward to representing his clients.

“You really feel like you have a stake in this person…to really represent those people who I can sympathize with and really feel strongly about getting behind,” he said. “If you do a good job, you can really make these peoples’ lives better. All in all, it makes me happy because I can go home at the end of the day and feel like I’m doing good for people.”

The law office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is at 21195 state Route 410 in Bonney Lake. The phone number is 253-862-1811.

Reach Judy Halone at jhalone@courierherald.com or 360-802-8210.