Former Hutterite dreams of life as a lawyer

Richard Waldner was 16 when he stole a car to help his sister abandon a Hutterite colony near Winnipeg. The brother and sister took a vehicle from the property and drove to Portage la Prairie on a Sunday, because everyone would be napping at that time.

Waldner told the Sun his sister practically commanded him to be her accomplice. But during the car ride, the young man decided he would join his sister and leave the colony. He phoned the colony on arriving in Portage, to tell them their car was at a mall and the keys were in the gas cap.

Waldner spent the next 15 years learning skills to live in the outside world. It all culminated in 2024 when he was accepted to the University of Manitoba’s law program, arranging for him a future he is excited about.

Talking about the connection between studying law and being raised Hutterite, Waldner said he’d like to bring his experience into his work. There’s a gap in knowledge he said, and because of his background he’d be able to offer rare and valuable experience that connects the Hutterites with Canada’s body of legal knowledge.

“The courts really only understand Hutterites from the point of view of leadership,” said Waldner. “Not from the point of view of people who live there, which can be two totally separate experiences.”

He said he’d like to bridge that gap if at all possible.

As a student, Waldner now proudly claims to be the first Hutterite-born Manitoban to attend law school in the province. And he said the motivation he had to leave the colony is the same motivation to study law.

“It all comes from the desire, the pursuit, the willingness to be in charge of your own life,” Waldner told the Sun in February. “I wanted to have a say, I guess, in how things happen, in however tiny a way I can. And I think law empowers people to do that somewhat.”

Whereas he had complaints on the colony of most decisions being made “for him,” he said he has been empowered by becoming skilled and finding a profession that puts himself at the helm of his work.

Kelly Saunders, a political science professor at Brandon University who taught Walder, told the Sun in February that Waldner was a star student. In a phone call, the professor said she helped the former Hutterite with his entrance essay to law school, when she first read about his journey.

“(I read it and thought that) this is an incredible story of overcoming adversity and perseverance,” she told the Sun. “And just, the remarkable character that the story really spoke to.”

Waldner’s story included leaving at age 16, going back to night school to earn a high school education, using that to get into BU, graduating, passing the entrance exam to law school and being accepted at the U of M.

As the law school advisor for BU, Saunders met with Richards as he completed his degree at BU. Because he took interest in law, they would often discuss things such as his entrance exam to law school.

“Richard was a natural at the law,” said Saunders. “I mean, his ability to think conceptually, his ability think logically and to reason out facts and sort of present them in a sequential order, and to think about the big picture, was really quite remarkable.”

Another former professor, Allison McCulloch, from Brandon University said it was clear Waldner was interested in his studies, as he brought life to classroom discussions. Every year there’s a few with that energy, and he was one.

“I think the thing that stood out to me was Richard’s curiosity about the world,” said McCulloch. “That enthusiasm about learning was very obvious throughout his whole time at BU.”

While Waldner told the Sun he saw downsides with life at the colony as a teenager, he does admit his upbringing may have instilled in him some drivers of success. He told the Sun that in his opinion colonies raise children “very well,” and that Hutterites have a “really hard work ethic” that allows them to succeed.

Looking forward, the law student plans to look for work in Manitoba. He said he sees a future in Winnipeg, and that he would like to return to Brandon at some stage of his career, perhaps putting to use his knowledge and experience as a Hutterite-born man.

The now 35-year-old is near completion of his first year of law school in Winnipeg. He has the support of his former professors behind him, especially the professor that first taught him in a law class.

“He is someone that I know will make a remarkable lawyer and advocate one day,” said Saunders. “I’m really excited to see where his life is going to take him.”

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com