Law School Graduation: Five Year Recap

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Wow, I cannot believe it has been FIVE years since I have graduated from law school. I was hooded on 12 December 2015 and I officially graduated on 14 December 2015. I fought so hard to have this monumental moment in my life. However, this was not possible without my village, whom was an incredible support system throughout this journey and I am thankful for them.

Law School was a major dream of mine since I was younger. I always believed in advocating on behalf of others and pursuing justice. I have always had a heart to serve and help others.

However, law school almost did not happen. The second semester of my junior year of college, I became pregnant. I remember the exact moment I saw that positive pregnancy test; 20 years old, scared, and feeling like my life was over. I was also in a very abusive relationship that emotionally depleted me. (I will go into my pregnancy journey and single motherhood one day with a separate blog post). Eventually, I went home to my mother, who already knew I was pregnant before I could even tell her.

I was stunned at how she knew when I was only six weeks and not showing. However, I soon learn that “Mama’s always know.” My parents stepped up and helped me care for my son, as long as I did my part. We made a plan and my parents kept their word, and I kept mine.

After graduating from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University magna cum laude in May 2012 and taking a gap year, I enrolled into The University of South Carolina School of Law in the Fall of 2013. I blogged about my law school experience in a separate post, here.

The hardest part of this process was not seeing my son Jailen everyday. However, we spent a lot of time on FaceTime and I spent most weekends driving 6 hours home to Virginia to see him as much as possible. It was hard leaving him after those weekends together. It never got easier. Every chance I had a break or long weekend, I would get him. Jailen was my motivation to keep going, set goals, and remind myself that this was for him and our future.

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I was fortunate to graduate law school a semester early in December 2015. I worked very hard to push through my classes to achieve this goal, and I was successful. This was only possible because of God and my village. The overflowing joy that I felt in that moment is indescribable and surreal.

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14 December 2015 is a day I will always remember.

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Although I knew the Bar exam would be my next monster to tackle, in that very moment, all I could do was hug my son and cry.

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When I look back at all the accomplishments and the sacrifices made, I believe that they were worth it. To be able to provide a better life and amazing opportunities for my son made every single hard decision worth it. I prayed, wrote my vision and made it plain, and manifested everything that I wanted.

We did it again. Just like we did in college, we made it through law school. God keeps all promises, and it’s only up from here, kid.

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At 30, I am still a young lawyer in my profession. I have accomplished some incredible things during these past five years.

Some of these things include receiving a judicial clerkship (which are extremely competitive) and winning my first jury trial (and the first jury trial my previous unit took to court). Also, I am now a SVU Prosecutor for the Attorney General’s Office. I seriously love my career. The work that I do is rewarding and I genuinely happy in my practice area. I have incredible mentors who help pave the way for me in my career.

Additionally, I am on the Board of Editors for the SC Lawyer Magazine, which I am grateful to be apart of. I am active in my local South Carolina Bar. As far as the American Bar Association, I was a 2019-2020 Young Lawyers Division Diversity Scholar where I helped author the 2020 White Paper. This year, I am one of the Vice Directors for Diversity and Inclusion. I am active with various committees within the ABA and have helped put on several programs and webinars. I have so much more I want to accomplish as an attorney and I am excited to see what God has in store for my career.

Lastly, during these last five years, I met the love of my life, Roy, about two weeks after taking the bar exam. Talk about God’s perfect and divine timing. Roy is a big supporter of my career. I am so grateful for his dedication and constant cheering me on as I accomplish my goals.

Cheers to the next five years. I cannot wait to see what goals I smash by 2025!