Finals, Negotiations, and Projects, oh my!

As the last week of law school emerges, I feel a slight panic coming on. I seem to always panic when it comes to the final weeks of law school mainly because well, its law school! Just this upcoming week alone I have a 2-hour negotiation as my final for Interview, counseling, and negotiations (a must-take with Professor Dell, who is ABSOLUTELY amazing! What a privilege to have someone so knowledgeable teach at our school), 4 projects due in my Law Office Management class (another must-take if you ever plan or have ever even considered owning your own law firm someday), and a Torts exam for my Art of Lawyering class (don’t let the name fool you, there is no coloring involved, its purely a mix between a bar prep course and a BIG wake up call as to where you are in relation to being prepared for the bar!). Time management is a must, which is why I write out a daily schedule of each task I will set out to complete that day and mark it off as I go. My goal this semester is to make Dean’s List, as I have the past 2 semesters. It seems like a pretty reasonable and do-able goal coming from a straight A undergrad education but law school takes a lot more than a little luck and some late night cram session (although those 2 things are, in fact, helpful!). I believe it takes dedication, determination, and a little thing we all know as hope! Law school is hard but it is also do-able. At times, you may feel like you weren’t meant to be a lawyer, or that this is “too hard” or “too much” for you (trust me, I feel that way right now – most of my classmates in my Business Associations class probably do too!) but the reality is, there are dozens upon dozens of attorneys that have graduated and will continue to graduate from good old St. Thomas Law. They did it! They passed the bar and have gone out into the real world and become very successful attorneys. So if they have done it, why can’t we? Why can’t we do the best we can, even when times get hard? Because we are scared? Nonsense! You should never fear success! So for those who are starting and those who are thinking about starting law school, DO IT! Don’t be scared! Don’t ever think you are not good enough or not smart enough. If you got into law school, it is because someone looked at you and said, you know what, I think they can do this! So if someone else saw that in you, why shouldn’t you see that in yourself? If you are thinking of applying but are scared of being rejected, you will never know until you try! If this is what you really want, there is no sense in not following your dreams. Believe in yourself and this journey will become that much more bearable, even in the darkest of times, even when you feel you have no hope left. Look to your left and your right at your classmates and know that you belong here just as much as they do! So believe, have hope, and remain determined and dedicated! This semester is almost over, and WE WILL make it through!

BEST OF LUCK ON FINALS! Till next time,

Aimee S.

Opportunities!

Being the president of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers (FAWL) is something I decided to undertake because I felt I could do a lot to help our school. Our past president didn’t make the chapter a very active one and I wanted to do something about it. Therefore, on top of my 5 classes (yes, I know, I am crazy), I undertook a very heavy social calendar for my FAWL. I am proud to say that through blood, sweat, and tears, I have had an amazing semester with regards to FAWL. We had a supplement sale to raise money for our organization (which went super well!). Then we had a Breast Cancer Awareness sale and participated in the Race for The Cure breast cancer 5k walk/run and raised over $760 for breast cancer! We also had the opportunity to work with the Miami-Dade FAWL and had a “Speed-Networking” mentor/mentee event where we went around the room ranking possible mentors and networking with both Judges and Attorneys (from very prestigious firms, may I add!). This event was very successful and I was very happy to see several of my male members attend this wonderful opportunity! All the attendees then ranked the mentors in preference of whom they liked most and were later paired up according to both our rankings and compatibility. I was luckily paired with my first choice, Judge Glick, a Criminal Court judge for Miami-Dade County. As part of my mentee experience, I have been invited by the Judge to attend court for a day and see what she does on a daily basis. I believe this is an amazing opportunity that has been presented to me and I couldn’t be happier with my mentor. I also got to network at this event and got a couple of contact information from various other mentors, whom I plan to stay in touch with. Networking is very important because who you know will always facilitate the job search after or even during law school (obviously, after your first year – I don’t recommend anyone work during their first year, unless its completely necessary and administratively approved – since law school is the equivalent of what you feel when you are cultured shocked!). Lastly, this Halloween we held a costume drive and donated over 112 costumes to the children in the Women in Distress shelter of Broward County (a very special thanks to Silvia and her family, who own a costume store, for that!). I am really looking forward to all the things we will have going on next semester and all the wonderful opportunities being part of an organization can provide! So join an organization! It can be a source of endless opportunities you may not get as just a student!

Till next time,

Aimee S.