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Why is Law School Terrible?
In college I attended a conference where a student discussed how he was finishing his 1L year. And he made the joke almost all law students have made since the invention of law school, which was DON’T GO! And everyone laughed, but I remember the guy’s eyes flashing with a glint of a little desperation, but then he smiled again and said he was joking. But was he? Are we just joking when we tell people not to go? Why is law school so horrible that we dissuade others from attending? I’ve covered before why the advice for most people to not attend law school doesn’t really apply to Latinas.…
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Your Goals Matter
First, sorry not sorry, but I can’t get off the Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter train–it was just such a good book! But it definitely has kept me thinking–in the novel, the imperfect daughter, Julia, struggles with meeting the standards her family sets and is more focused on creating a life for herself that’s different than what her small neighborhood has to offer–she wants to be a writer, go to college, see the world. Her parents don’t get why she can’t be happy to have a steady job and stay at home with her family. There were so many scenes where I was rooting for Julia and became just as…
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Law School Culture Shock: Keep These Things in Mind
We talk a lot about how different law school feels once you start. It can all be so overwhelming that at times you may think that you’re the only struggling, when that’s not the case at all. I wanted to discuss culture shock and adjusting to your new law school reality. First, culture shock is real. Whenever you enter new environments with new social cues and norms, it can be difficult to get a handle of it. When I first started, I could NOT get over the idea that people actually wore suits. Like, it felt like a costume; not something I would actually wear for an entire day. It…
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Do You Ever Need to Tone It Down At Work?
“It” being your latinidad? Ok so first, if you’re not watching Insecure–do what you must to get HBO because this show is so amazing! I’ve been a huge fan of Issa Rae forever–from Awkward Black Girl to Ratchet Piece Theater and even love her brother’s show The Fly Guys. LOVE them. Anyway, one of the characters is an attorney–a third year associate at a good firm. Molly has definitely learned how to play the part of being a woman of color in a mostly white firm. There’s a story line (video) where there’s a summer associate, a young black woman named Rashida, who either has not learned to adjust her…
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Summer Series: The Journey to Law School
Our Summer Series for Summer 16 comes to an end! This series highlights different Latina students and law grads as they embark in their summer jobs and/or bar prep all across the country. We hope to provide a variety of work experiences, options for a healthy work-life balance, and general motivation through different guest contributors to help you to take charge of your summer and professional goals! Today we hear from Nataly, a rising 1L, committed to immigrant and farmworker justice as she gears up for her first semester of law school while balancing the guilt that comes with bucking our traditions: Earlier in the spring, I opened up an email from the school I…
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What Will You Do To Get In? And What Will You Do Once You’re There?
I saw this image on Instagram and thought it was a good visual for how we need to be in order to create change in the legal field. We have to abide by the standards and customs to be admitted, but then once we’re in we have to do our best to become agents of change—big and small. I talk a lot about work culture, following cues, and finding ways to fit into work so that you can advance in your career. I do this knowing that there are some people ready to go in and create change by pointing out all the internal injustices that are wrong with our…
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Culture Conflict: Extracurricular Activities and Latinos
Last week we talked about the importance of cultivating soft factors for law school. Most of that entailed getting involved in activities outside of school. However, I’m classifying getting involved in extracurriculars as a cultural conflict because Latino involvement in these programs is the lowest compared to other ethnic groups. There are many reasons why our participation is low: 1) our cultures really encourage children (girls, especially) to stay home; 2) finances may severely limit a family’s ability to pay for extraneous things; 3) parents (who may not have obtained their education in the U.S.) don’t understand the importance of these activities or connect how they relate to advancement in education;…
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Raise Your Voice: Student Activism
My freshman year in college, I innocently walked into a workshop about white supremacy. I had imagined I would learn about overt acts of racism (a la the KKK) but I when the workshop ended, I walked out stunned. My 19 year old brain had never been exposed to the idea of systemic oppression (please cut me some slack–it was very early 2000s and information did not travel like it does now). That day was probably one of the most formative days in school–it was like a curtain had been pulled back and suddenly so many things made sense, while so many more created confusion. After that workshop, it still…
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Seek Our History: The Purpose of Hispanic Heritage Month
One of the reasons that I Loved college (with a capitol L) is because of the Latino student group. It was small, but mighty. I learned so much about leadership, collaboration, advocacy, friendship, etc. etc. through this group, but one of the most important lessons was how vital culture is to our identities. For many years, I grew up isolated from family traditions and my culture (long story). It wasn’t until college that I realized how embracing my traditions and culture wasn’t just acceptable, but necessary. So for me, Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to go beyond my normal routine and learn about the highs and lows of the Latino-American experience.…
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Celebrating Accomplishments: Si Se Pudo
It’s that time of year again–Bar announcements. And I’ve seen many have already gotten really great news! Felicidades! It’s such an exciting time! So this seemed like a great time to talk about the importance of acknowledging professional accomplishments. A common theme we see as women is that our professional achievements aren’t celebrated as strongly as events tied to family. This article does a great job of describing the problem. I also remember reading an article years ago where a girl from a small town, where many of her peers couldn’t go to college because of teen pregnancy, graduated high school and was accepted into college. Her achievement was so foreign…