Growing up in a working class home, I quickly gained the skills of an environmentalist, entrepreneur, and civics leader. I can still recall the smell of the flowering fruit trees of the summer months in sunny South Florid and how every year I would gather the abundance of extra fruit in our backyard and distribute them to our extended family, friends, and neighbors. In our modest home, nothing was ever thrown away, and items would be recycled many times. At the age of nine I was serving hot coffee and small pastries at the walk-up window of the small Cuban café my parents owned. As the United States prepared to celebrate its bicentennial, in the afternoons with a small booklet in hand, I drilled my mother test questions to prepare her for the American citizenship exam. During my senior year in high school, I managed to achieve my first paying job through the school/work program Future Business Leaders of America. While some of my friends were flipping burgers after school, I was hired as a file clerk in an attorney’s solo practice. I still remember the scent of beautifully lined cherry wood bookcases filled with literature in the office’s conference room. For the first time in my life I could now afford the “cool” clothes my younger brother and I always wanted, pay for movie tickets, or go out to our favorite fast food restaurants. At sixteen, I opened my first checking account and began saving for a rainy day. Moving forward I focused on what I knew best - working hard, staying out of trouble, and going to school - all in pursuit of achieving the American dream. As I look back at my college experience, I worked hard while putting myself through college.
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Even though I applied for financial aid I was denied. I came to learn that the federal formula was weighted not only by income but also by assets. So my parent’s small nest egg, a modest home with sundry repairs to come and a mortgage to be paid every month for the next ten years, counted against me. I’d attend classes during the early morning hours, late afternoons, evenings and weekends as long as it didn’t interfere with my work hours. When breaks came around, while some of my friends were off on vacation or volunteering in faraway countries, I worked extra hours. Having the additional cash meant that I didn’t have to burden my parents with college tuition costs, books, meals, transportation, etc., and I could pitch in with household necessities. Even so, I had a strong desire to become part of the FIU school community. I became a founding member of the FIU Law Association, volunteering on some weekends to fundraise and participate in mock trials. My first job out of college was working as a social worker in one of Miami’s Foster Care Units. After just a few weeks of training I was handed approximately forty files and the responsibility of keeping track of the welfare of more than forty children. With short notice, I was called upon to make oral presentations during juvenile court hearings before Administrative Judges. I experienced firsthand the effects of children’s dire situations, including vile abuse, homelessness, mental illness, starvation, just to name a few. The lesson I took away from this experience is that the significance of the family unit is like no other, and while our government attempts to help with short-term fixes and placing bandages on problems, it is hard to compensate for the lack of a safe and nurturing family structure. A few years later, I jumped at the chance to work with a start-up group as an Administrative Assistant that initiated the first Human Rights Institute at St. Thomas University. I returned to school and earned a post-baccalaureate paralegal certificate …show more content…
I’ve taken an introspective inventory of what keeps me coming back to the goal of pursuing a law school education and that is the chance to provide legal advice and a perspective from which clients can make sound personal and business decisions, even when emotions seem to be the driving force in their decision making. I can speak from experience having been in those shoes. I’m comfortable shedding my entrepreneurial career and wholeheartedly committed to becoming a full-time law student. I’m certain that every life experience, challenging crossroads, shed tears, and answered prayers prepared me for this moment in
Even though I applied for financial aid I was denied. I came to learn that the federal formula was weighted not only by income but also by assets. So my parent’s small nest egg, a modest home with sundry repairs to come and a mortgage to be paid every month for the next ten years, counted against me. I’d attend classes during the early morning hours, late afternoons, evenings and weekends as long as it didn’t interfere with my work hours. When breaks came around, while some of my friends were off on vacation or volunteering in faraway countries, I worked extra hours. Having the additional cash meant that I didn’t have to burden my parents with college tuition costs, books, meals, transportation, etc., and I could pitch in with household necessities. Even so, I had a strong desire to become part of the FIU school community. I became a founding member of the FIU Law Association, volunteering on some weekends to fundraise and participate in mock trials. My first job out of college was working as a social worker in one of Miami’s Foster Care Units. After just a few weeks of training I was handed approximately forty files and the responsibility of keeping track of the welfare of more than forty children. With short notice, I was called upon to make oral presentations during juvenile court hearings before Administrative Judges. I experienced firsthand the effects of children’s dire situations, including vile abuse, homelessness, mental illness, starvation, just to name a few. The lesson I took away from this experience is that the significance of the family unit is like no other, and while our government attempts to help with short-term fixes and placing bandages on problems, it is hard to compensate for the lack of a safe and nurturing family structure. A few years later, I jumped at the chance to work with a start-up group as an Administrative Assistant that initiated the first Human Rights Institute at St. Thomas University. I returned to school and earned a post-baccalaureate paralegal certificate …show more content…
I’ve taken an introspective inventory of what keeps me coming back to the goal of pursuing a law school education and that is the chance to provide legal advice and a perspective from which clients can make sound personal and business decisions, even when emotions seem to be the driving force in their decision making. I can speak from experience having been in those shoes. I’m comfortable shedding my entrepreneurial career and wholeheartedly committed to becoming a full-time law student. I’m certain that every life experience, challenging crossroads, shed tears, and answered prayers prepared me for this moment in