February 14, 2025 • 20 mins
In this episode of First Gen 101, host Miguel Sanchez sits down with Brizeyda to discuss her incredible journey to becoming a successful attorney. Brizeyda shares insights on perseverance, family support, and strategic planning, offering invaluable advice for first-generation students and aspiring lawyers. She talks about the challenges she faced during her undergrad and law school years, her choice of the University of Florida for undergrad, and how she decided on Pace Law School for her legal studies. Don't miss this inspiring story of resilience and achievement.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Miguel Sanchez (00:10):
Welcome to first gen 1 0 1.
The podcast wherefirst-generation graduates share
their stories and career tips.
I am your host.
Miguel Sanchez.
In this episode.
talks about the power ofperseverance.
Family support.
Uh, strategic planning, offeringadvice for first gen students
(00:31):
and aspiring attorneys.
Listen, learn and be inspiredtoday.
Welcome to another episode ofthe first gen one on one
podcast.
Today I have Brizeyda.
Thank you for being here today.
Brizeyda (00:45):
Thank you for having me.
Miguel Sanchez (00:48):
Brizeyda, let's get right into it.
Tell us about your background.
Brizeyda (00:52):
Sure.
I actually wasn't born in the U.
S.
I came to the U.
S.
when I was seven years old,which was a completely life
changing experience for me.
Going into my undergrad, theprocess was really hard for me
because I didn't know anything.
I had, I was going in itcompletely blindly.
so I.
(01:13):
Well, to do a lot of the,research myself, which was
really hard and isolating, wasempowering as well because I was
able to get myself to a decentstate university, with a
scholarship, which was unheardof at that time, for non
(01:37):
citizens.
I think that the reason why I'vebeen so successful is because
I've leaned into, and reliedheavily upon my community to
help guide me through theprocess.
So
Miguel Sanchez (01:51):
And Brizeyda, can you tell us where you
attended school and, where didyou grow up
Brizeyda (01:55):
I grew up in South Florida in Fort Lauderdale.
I went to the University ofFlorida for my undergrad, go
Gators.
Miguel Sanchez (02:03):
You mentioned it was difficult to research,
you did it mostly on your own.
How did you choose your college?
Brizeyda (02:13):
I think that I was persuaded because I liked that
it was a larger university, thathad a very diverse student
population.
It is a really good school to goto.
And a lot of my friends areapplying, which is part of the
(02:33):
reason why I applied to gothere, to be honest.
The reason why I chose to gothere was because I attended,
one of their, admitted students,events and I really liked the
campus culture.
My mom felt safe because as afirst gen student, you know,
parents also, this is new forthem too.
Miguel Sanchez (02:54):
Yes.
Brizeyda (02:55):
She felt safe in the community, like letting me leave
home and be on my own for thefirst time.
It was reassuring to me that,she felt like it was good for me
to take.
Miguel Sanchez (03:08):
How was your mom involved in the college
selection process?
Brizeyda (03:14):
I was really blessed to have been raised by a
terrific single mother who hasbeen really involved in, my life
and studies and has alwayssupported me.
She doesn't have the knowledgeabout how the application
process works, but she's alwaysbeen there.
I've, always tried to make me,have meetings with, advice,
(03:39):
like, the staff at the schools.
So she would always take me tothose or whenever there was, You
know, college fairs, she wouldalways go with me to those.
And she also has gone to all ofthe admitted students events
that they, you know, that thoseuniversities have, provided for
us.
So she has been, tremendousmoral support for me throughout
(03:59):
the years.
Miguel Sanchez (04:01):
When you said the other admitted student
events, did you attend more thanone?
What were some of the otheruniversities you were
considering?
Brizeyda (04:08):
I actually didn't apply to a lot of them.
I think if I were to do itagain, I would have applied to
more.
It.
so happened that things ended upworking out in my favor, but
very well could not have beenthat way.
I think I only applied to otherschools.
The University of Miami beingone of them, Southeastern
(04:29):
University, which is a reallylocal university, was another
and Florida Atlantic Universitywas my fourth.
Because there were so few ofthem, I was able to have
meetings with, the admissionsstaff.
at each school, which was aplus.
I highly recommend if there's aschool that is top on your list,
if there's an opportunity foryou to have a one on one in
(04:52):
person meeting, that is such avaluable thing to do.
but so those are those schoolsthat I applied to.
Thankfully was able to.
have a choice because I was toall of them.
And I decided to go to UF.
Miguel Sanchez (05:12):
When you left home to go to college, How was
that last day before leavinghome?
How was the departure of beingaway from home for the first
time?
And what was your mom'sreaction?
Brizeyda (05:25):
It was actually a family affair.
I remember my uncle drove mebecause it's a six hour drive
from South Florida toGainesville, Florida.
We had, his van all packed upwith my things.
My mom came and my sister came.
it was, really touching that,they all took the time to, take
(05:46):
me to the school and help me setup my room at an apartment that
I was renting, with otherstudents.
It was really great because.
I have relied heavily on familyfor support.
And you know, they've showed upbig time for me.
So it was really emotionallycharged because a lot of my
(06:06):
family was there.
There were some tears the firstfew days.
I'm not gonna lie.
I wondered if I had made theright choice being so far away
from my family, but what kept megrounded was that I wanted to do
better for myself and my familyand to be in a better position,
not just financially, I knewthat this was the only way I
(06:29):
could get to where I wanted tobe.
Miguel Sanchez (06:33):
Now you're at, University of Florida.
It's your first semester.
What were some of the challengesduring your first semester?
Brizeyda (06:42):
Being away from my family was definitely a huge
challenge.
We've always lived withinminutes of each other.
so not having the opportunity tovisit with, my aunt my uncle and
my little cousins who I wasreally close to.
Was really difficult.
It was also a huge cultureshock.
because for the first time I waswith students, not of my same
(07:05):
background.
I really started to sink in howvastly different my upbringing
was than everyone else's.
And it seems like I was in anisland and.
That no one else, you know,could relate to because for the
most part, the people I wassitting in classes with were
(07:27):
coming from affluent backgroundswith parents who had
professional degrees or, hadattended, college.
And, you know, here I was afirst gen students, my mom, you
know, didn't even finish highschool.
it was a huge culture shock forme.
So I had to.
Look for my own community ofpeople who I could relate to and
(07:51):
who I could rely on for supportas well.
Miguel Sanchez (07:57):
While you were in school, and you mentioned you
relied on your community.
How did you find community atyour university?
Brizeyda (08:05):
There are a lot of, student organizations that, I
joined.
One of them was for Latinostudents.
Very great to have people of mysimilar, ethnic background and
culture.
Another, group that was reallyinstrumental was the, immigrants
(08:26):
rights student group, Because alot of the members were either
immigrants themselves orchildren of immigrants.
And we clicked instantly becauseof that.
Miguel Sanchez (08:39):
During the process, while you're connecting
with other students of similarbackground, similar experiences,
did you have any mentors, anyprofessors, anyone from the
university staff or faculty whohelped you understand the
culture of college and how toovercome some of those
(09:03):
challenges?
Brizeyda (09:04):
You know, that's one of the biggest.
Regrets I have is not, tappinginto that earlier because it,
didn't happen for me until mysenior year of college, going to
a larger university does haveits downfalls and one of them is
that you can feel like you'relost in the shuffle and that you
(09:25):
maybe don't want to burden yourprofessors, with, you know,
taking extra time from thembecause they, they have
thousands of other, students butyou'll learn throughout your
journey that a lot of theseprofessors, reason why they've
(09:45):
gone into this, career isbecause they truly want to make
a difference in their studentslives.
they thrive when you thrive.
And, they're really, really,invested in giving you your
best, you know, experience andhelping you in whatever way
possible.
(10:06):
So for me, that didn't happenuntil maybe my, my senior year,
when I started to realize, well,I want to go to law school and
I'm going to need people towrite these recommendations for
me.
I have to have more face timewith these professors.
And I did and then I, started toknow my professors in a more
(10:27):
meaningful way.
They were able to impart a lotof knowledge that helped me in
my law school applicationprocess.
Miguel Sanchez (10:35):
At what point did you realize that you wanted
to be a lawyer and why did youdecide that law school was the
next path for you?
Brizeyda (10:45):
I always wanted to be a lawyer.
I'm not sure why exactly, butit's always been my dream to be
an attorney.
I didn't really know what typeof law I wanted to study until
undergrad when I took animmigration class I realized how
many people were completelymisinformed about the
(11:06):
immigration system and howdeeply flawed it is.
At that point, I realized that Iwanted to be an immigration
attorney.
Miguel Sanchez (11:17):
When you applied to law school.
Did you apply to more schools?
Did you keep your list short?
How was the process of selectingyour law school?
Brizeyda (11:28):
I was more methodical and more organized this time
around.
And I did apply to many moreschools.
because you have to, there areso many students who want to
pursue law school.
It's a numbers game.
So you have to apply to severalschools.
And so I did, I made a list.
I was, I had a spreadsheet withall of the schools that I wanted
(11:52):
to, that I had some interest in.
And I tried to learn as much aspossible about.
the schools and the programsthey offered.
Miguel Sanchez (12:02):
How did you decide that PACE was the right
choice?
Brizeyda (12:06):
So actually it was completely random.
I attended a law school, fair,and I think that's how Pace Law
ended up getting my emailaddress.
They invited me to a webinarI've never heard of PACE Law.
I'm from South Florida.
You know, PACE is in WhitePlains, New York.
(12:26):
I attended because they promisedan application fee waiver if you
attended.
I went and, one of my questionswas, do you have any immigration
programs that might be good forme because I want to be an
immigration attorney.
That's when I learned about theimmigration clinic at Pace.
(12:48):
And that's really what sold meinto applying to Pace.
Miguel Sanchez (12:54):
Did you visit PACE before you decided to
enroll?
Brizeyda (13:00):
I did.
I did.
I went to, an admitted studentsday and I went to that.
My mom also went with me.
As did my aunt.
We are a really tight knitfamily.
and mom loved the campus.
She thought it was beautiful.
And based on that alone, shesaid, this is where you need to
go.
They had like cherry blossomsand it was springtime and it was
beautiful.
(13:20):
So she's like, this seemspeaceful.
This is where you should go.
Again, like the safety factorfor her.
And for me, I actually was notsure because I was debating
between other schools that day,that I, that I went to
administer and say that wasactually the last day that my
deadline that PACE had given meto, Either commit or, or, or
(13:42):
tell'em that I wasn't attending.
So it was a really big deal forme to figure out in one day's
time whether or not I wanted togo to this school.
I ended up meeting withProfessor Merton, who was
overseeing the ImmigrationClinic she's really the reason
why I chose to go to Pace Law.
I saw how dedicated she was to.
The people she served and alsoto the students, we ended up
(14:04):
having a great conversation andI walked out of that
conversation.
I signed my letter, andpresented it to the, admissions
officer.
The rest is history.
Miguel Sanchez (14:17):
How did mentors shape the person you are today?
Brizeyda (14:21):
Absolutely.
It clicked for me as anundergrad student that I didn't
get the best experience becauseI didn't utilize all of the
tools and resources available atmy undergraduate school.
So going into law school, Ifully intended on taking
advantage of all of the servicesoffered by my school um, And who
(14:43):
were instrumental in my entirelaw school journey, as were
other professors who have beenmentors for me.
leaving law school and,entering, the career.
Miguel Sanchez (14:57):
Speaking of careers, how was the process of
getting your first job out oflaw school?
Brizeyda (15:04):
My process wasn't, I've had a clear vision about
what I wanted to do, for awhile.
I actually, as, as I was sittingmy internship as a 1L, doing
research because I wanted to dosome sort of fellowship.
program after law school.
(15:25):
I didn't want to, get a job witha law firm right out because I
wanted to have more of amentorship type job built into
it.
So I was looking at fellowshipsand came across one that was new
at that time.
It's called the, immigrantjustice core fellowship and I
learned of that my one year andit became my mission to.
(15:49):
have that be my number one, jobchoice, I focused on that and,
other fellowships that were likeit.
That was definitely my numberone choice.
Miguel Sanchez (15:59):
You mentioned you decided to go to college
because not only would it helpyou, but it would help your
family.
How would you say college andlaw school has transformed your
life and also your family'slife?
Brizeyda (16:15):
in so many ways, for those of us who are first gen
students of, lower economicmeans, security is really big
because oftentimes we grew upnot having much security, having
our family members, do jobs thatthey can get for whatever they
(16:37):
can get, I've seen my mom beexploited, and put up with,
really harsh working conditionsbecause she didn't have a
choice.
She had, mouths to feed.
and I definitely wanted to makesure that I did whatever I could
to put myself in a bettersituation so that I could make
sure that she was, happy.
(16:57):
More financially stable later onin life, I knew that getting a
higher education is one of thefew routes towards, mobility,
so, that was something I wasaware of at an early age, and I
wanted to make sure that myfamily was more stable.
I was.
(17:18):
choosing a career that would,give me the financial stability
and job security that I neededto feel more, secure in my own
future.
Miguel Sanchez (17:30):
what were some of the things that came to mind
during your law schoolgraduation.
Brizeyda (17:37):
My law school graduation was definitely more,
impactful for me, because I knewI was closing the chapter of my
academic career.
I have always loved school notbecause I've been a particularly
good student.
I think I'm an average student,but I really have loved learning
and sitting in the classroom.
So it was, really sad to beclosing that chapter of my life,
(18:01):
but it was really exciting toknow that I had made a plan for
myself and a goal to law school.
Finally checking that off feltlike the biggest accomplishment
of my lifetime at that point,having my extended family there
was just the icing on the cake.
Miguel Sanchez (18:23):
Brizeyda, what advice would you offer to anyone
who's a first gen college or alaw student who's listening?
Brizeyda (18:32):
I think if you want it, you can have it.
That has been my motto my wholelife.
If you work hard enough, you canobtain whatever goal you set out
for yourself.
It will take a lot of work anddedication.
And it's going to take a lot ofplanning.
School is really expensive.
So it's not a decision that youshould take lightly, but if
(18:56):
that's where your heart istelling you to go, you can
absolutely do it.
And I've seen I have so manyfriends who have had similar
stories as mine, who are reallysuccessful attorneys now.
The, sky really is, the limit.
And you can do it if you wantit, but you have to be,
(19:16):
organized and, apply yourself inways that maybe non first gen
students don't have to.
but.
is totally, totally doable.
If I can do it, you canabsolutely do it.
Miguel Sanchez (19:32):
Well, Brizeyda, this was great.
I appreciate your, uh, your theexperiences you shared with us
today.
I know that they're going tohelp many students who are first
gen college students or lawschool students.
Brizeyda, thank you for speakingwith me today.
Brizeyda (19:50):
Thank you so much.
MacBook Air Microphone (19:51):
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoy the episode.
Subscribe to this podcast andshare it with a friend.
Don't forget to leave a review.
Until next time.
Welcome to first gen 1 0 1.
The podcast wherefirst-generation graduates share
their stories and career tips.
I am your host.
Miguel Sanchez.
In this episode.
talks about the power ofperseverance.
Family support.
Uh, strategic planning, offeringadvice for first gen students
(00:31):
and aspiring attorneys.
Listen, learn and be inspiredtoday.
Welcome to another episode ofthe first gen one on one
podcast.
Today I have Brizeyda.
Thank you for being here today.
Brizeyda (00:45):
Thank you for having me.
Miguel Sanchez (00:48):
Brizeyda, let's get right into it.
Tell us about your background.
Brizeyda (00:52):
Sure.
I actually wasn't born in the U.
S.
I came to the U.
S.
when I was seven years old,which was a completely life
changing experience for me.
Going into my undergrad, theprocess was really hard for me
because I didn't know anything.
I had, I was going in itcompletely blindly.
so I.
(01:13):
Well, to do a lot of the,research myself, which was
really hard and isolating, wasempowering as well because I was
able to get myself to a decentstate university, with a
scholarship, which was unheardof at that time, for non
(01:37):
citizens.
I think that the reason why I'vebeen so successful is because
I've leaned into, and reliedheavily upon my community to
help guide me through theprocess.
So
Miguel Sanchez (01:51):
And Brizeyda, can you tell us where you
attended school and, where didyou grow up
Brizeyda (01:55):
I grew up in South Florida in Fort Lauderdale.
I went to the University ofFlorida for my undergrad, go
Gators.
Miguel Sanchez (02:03):
You mentioned it was difficult to research,
you did it mostly on your own.
How did you choose your college?
Brizeyda (02:13):
I think that I was persuaded because I liked that
it was a larger university, thathad a very diverse student
population.
It is a really good school to goto.
And a lot of my friends areapplying, which is part of the
(02:33):
reason why I applied to gothere, to be honest.
The reason why I chose to gothere was because I attended,
one of their, admitted students,events and I really liked the
campus culture.
My mom felt safe because as afirst gen student, you know,
parents also, this is new forthem too.
Miguel Sanchez (02:54):
Yes.
Brizeyda (02:55):
She felt safe in the community, like letting me leave
home and be on my own for thefirst time.
It was reassuring to me that,she felt like it was good for me
to take.
Miguel Sanchez (03:08):
How was your mom involved in the college
selection process?
Brizeyda (03:14):
I was really blessed to have been raised by a
terrific single mother who hasbeen really involved in, my life
and studies and has alwayssupported me.
She doesn't have the knowledgeabout how the application
process works, but she's alwaysbeen there.
I've, always tried to make me,have meetings with, advice,
(03:39):
like, the staff at the schools.
So she would always take me tothose or whenever there was, You
know, college fairs, she wouldalways go with me to those.
And she also has gone to all ofthe admitted students events
that they, you know, that thoseuniversities have, provided for
us.
So she has been, tremendousmoral support for me throughout
(03:59):
the years.
Miguel Sanchez (04:01):
When you said the other admitted student
events, did you attend more thanone?
What were some of the otheruniversities you were
considering?
Brizeyda (04:08):
I actually didn't apply to a lot of them.
I think if I were to do itagain, I would have applied to
more.
It.
so happened that things ended upworking out in my favor, but
very well could not have beenthat way.
I think I only applied to otherschools.
The University of Miami beingone of them, Southeastern
(04:29):
University, which is a reallylocal university, was another
and Florida Atlantic Universitywas my fourth.
Because there were so few ofthem, I was able to have
meetings with, the admissionsstaff.
at each school, which was aplus.
I highly recommend if there's aschool that is top on your list,
if there's an opportunity foryou to have a one on one in
(04:52):
person meeting, that is such avaluable thing to do.
but so those are those schoolsthat I applied to.
Thankfully was able to.
have a choice because I was toall of them.
And I decided to go to UF.
Miguel Sanchez (05:12):
When you left home to go to college, How was
that last day before leavinghome?
How was the departure of beingaway from home for the first
time?
And what was your mom'sreaction?
Brizeyda (05:25):
It was actually a family affair.
I remember my uncle drove mebecause it's a six hour drive
from South Florida toGainesville, Florida.
We had, his van all packed upwith my things.
My mom came and my sister came.
it was, really touching that,they all took the time to, take
(05:46):
me to the school and help me setup my room at an apartment that
I was renting, with otherstudents.
It was really great because.
I have relied heavily on familyfor support.
And you know, they've showed upbig time for me.
So it was really emotionallycharged because a lot of my
(06:06):
family was there.
There were some tears the firstfew days.
I'm not gonna lie.
I wondered if I had made theright choice being so far away
from my family, but what kept megrounded was that I wanted to do
better for myself and my familyand to be in a better position,
not just financially, I knewthat this was the only way I
(06:29):
could get to where I wanted tobe.
Miguel Sanchez (06:33):
Now you're at, University of Florida.
It's your first semester.
What were some of the challengesduring your first semester?
Brizeyda (06:42):
Being away from my family was definitely a huge
challenge.
We've always lived withinminutes of each other.
so not having the opportunity tovisit with, my aunt my uncle and
my little cousins who I wasreally close to.
Was really difficult.
It was also a huge cultureshock.
because for the first time I waswith students, not of my same
(07:05):
background.
I really started to sink in howvastly different my upbringing
was than everyone else's.
And it seems like I was in anisland and.
That no one else, you know,could relate to because for the
most part, the people I wassitting in classes with were
(07:27):
coming from affluent backgroundswith parents who had
professional degrees or, hadattended, college.
And, you know, here I was afirst gen students, my mom, you
know, didn't even finish highschool.
it was a huge culture shock forme.
So I had to.
Look for my own community ofpeople who I could relate to and
(07:51):
who I could rely on for supportas well.
Miguel Sanchez (07:57):
While you were in school, and you mentioned you
relied on your community.
How did you find community atyour university?
Brizeyda (08:05):
There are a lot of, student organizations that, I
joined.
One of them was for Latinostudents.
Very great to have people of mysimilar, ethnic background and
culture.
Another, group that was reallyinstrumental was the, immigrants
(08:26):
rights student group, Because alot of the members were either
immigrants themselves orchildren of immigrants.
And we clicked instantly becauseof that.
Miguel Sanchez (08:39):
During the process, while you're connecting
with other students of similarbackground, similar experiences,
did you have any mentors, anyprofessors, anyone from the
university staff or faculty whohelped you understand the
culture of college and how toovercome some of those
(09:03):
challenges?
Brizeyda (09:04):
You know, that's one of the biggest.
Regrets I have is not, tappinginto that earlier because it,
didn't happen for me until mysenior year of college, going to
a larger university does haveits downfalls and one of them is
that you can feel like you'relost in the shuffle and that you
(09:25):
maybe don't want to burden yourprofessors, with, you know,
taking extra time from thembecause they, they have
thousands of other, students butyou'll learn throughout your
journey that a lot of theseprofessors, reason why they've
(09:45):
gone into this, career isbecause they truly want to make
a difference in their studentslives.
they thrive when you thrive.
And, they're really, really,invested in giving you your
best, you know, experience andhelping you in whatever way
possible.
(10:06):
So for me, that didn't happenuntil maybe my, my senior year,
when I started to realize, well,I want to go to law school and
I'm going to need people towrite these recommendations for
me.
I have to have more face timewith these professors.
And I did and then I, started toknow my professors in a more
(10:27):
meaningful way.
They were able to impart a lotof knowledge that helped me in
my law school applicationprocess.
Miguel Sanchez (10:35):
At what point did you realize that you wanted
to be a lawyer and why did youdecide that law school was the
next path for you?
Brizeyda (10:45):
I always wanted to be a lawyer.
I'm not sure why exactly, butit's always been my dream to be
an attorney.
I didn't really know what typeof law I wanted to study until
undergrad when I took animmigration class I realized how
many people were completelymisinformed about the
(11:06):
immigration system and howdeeply flawed it is.
At that point, I realized that Iwanted to be an immigration
attorney.
Miguel Sanchez (11:17):
When you applied to law school.
Did you apply to more schools?
Did you keep your list short?
How was the process of selectingyour law school?
Brizeyda (11:28):
I was more methodical and more organized this time
around.
And I did apply to many moreschools.
because you have to, there areso many students who want to
pursue law school.
It's a numbers game.
So you have to apply to severalschools.
And so I did, I made a list.
I was, I had a spreadsheet withall of the schools that I wanted
(11:52):
to, that I had some interest in.
And I tried to learn as much aspossible about.
the schools and the programsthey offered.
Miguel Sanchez (12:02):
How did you decide that PACE was the right
choice?
Brizeyda (12:06):
So actually it was completely random.
I attended a law school, fair,and I think that's how Pace Law
ended up getting my emailaddress.
They invited me to a webinarI've never heard of PACE Law.
I'm from South Florida.
You know, PACE is in WhitePlains, New York.
(12:26):
I attended because they promisedan application fee waiver if you
attended.
I went and, one of my questionswas, do you have any immigration
programs that might be good forme because I want to be an
immigration attorney.
That's when I learned about theimmigration clinic at Pace.
(12:48):
And that's really what sold meinto applying to Pace.
Miguel Sanchez (12:54):
Did you visit PACE before you decided to
enroll?
Brizeyda (13:00):
I did.
I did.
I went to, an admitted studentsday and I went to that.
My mom also went with me.
As did my aunt.
We are a really tight knitfamily.
and mom loved the campus.
She thought it was beautiful.
And based on that alone, shesaid, this is where you need to
go.
They had like cherry blossomsand it was springtime and it was
beautiful.
(13:20):
So she's like, this seemspeaceful.
This is where you should go.
Again, like the safety factorfor her.
And for me, I actually was notsure because I was debating
between other schools that day,that I, that I went to
administer and say that wasactually the last day that my
deadline that PACE had given meto, Either commit or, or, or
(13:42):
tell'em that I wasn't attending.
So it was a really big deal forme to figure out in one day's
time whether or not I wanted togo to this school.
I ended up meeting withProfessor Merton, who was
overseeing the ImmigrationClinic she's really the reason
why I chose to go to Pace Law.
I saw how dedicated she was to.
The people she served and alsoto the students, we ended up
(14:04):
having a great conversation andI walked out of that
conversation.
I signed my letter, andpresented it to the, admissions
officer.
The rest is history.
Miguel Sanchez (14:17):
How did mentors shape the person you are today?
Brizeyda (14:21):
Absolutely.
It clicked for me as anundergrad student that I didn't
get the best experience becauseI didn't utilize all of the
tools and resources available atmy undergraduate school.
So going into law school, Ifully intended on taking
advantage of all of the servicesoffered by my school um, And who
(14:43):
were instrumental in my entirelaw school journey, as were
other professors who have beenmentors for me.
leaving law school and,entering, the career.
Miguel Sanchez (14:57):
Speaking of careers, how was the process of
getting your first job out oflaw school?
Brizeyda (15:04):
My process wasn't, I've had a clear vision about
what I wanted to do, for awhile.
I actually, as, as I was sittingmy internship as a 1L, doing
research because I wanted to dosome sort of fellowship.
program after law school.
(15:25):
I didn't want to, get a job witha law firm right out because I
wanted to have more of amentorship type job built into
it.
So I was looking at fellowshipsand came across one that was new
at that time.
It's called the, immigrantjustice core fellowship and I
learned of that my one year andit became my mission to.
(15:49):
have that be my number one, jobchoice, I focused on that and,
other fellowships that were likeit.
That was definitely my numberone choice.
Miguel Sanchez (15:59):
You mentioned you decided to go to college
because not only would it helpyou, but it would help your
family.
How would you say college andlaw school has transformed your
life and also your family'slife?
Brizeyda (16:15):
in so many ways, for those of us who are first gen
students of, lower economicmeans, security is really big
because oftentimes we grew upnot having much security, having
our family members, do jobs thatthey can get for whatever they
(16:37):
can get, I've seen my mom beexploited, and put up with,
really harsh working conditionsbecause she didn't have a
choice.
She had, mouths to feed.
and I definitely wanted to makesure that I did whatever I could
to put myself in a bettersituation so that I could make
sure that she was, happy.
(16:57):
More financially stable later onin life, I knew that getting a
higher education is one of thefew routes towards, mobility,
so, that was something I wasaware of at an early age, and I
wanted to make sure that myfamily was more stable.
I was.
(17:18):
choosing a career that would,give me the financial stability
and job security that I neededto feel more, secure in my own
future.
Miguel Sanchez (17:30):
what were some of the things that came to mind
during your law schoolgraduation.
Brizeyda (17:37):
My law school graduation was definitely more,
impactful for me, because I knewI was closing the chapter of my
academic career.
I have always loved school notbecause I've been a particularly
good student.
I think I'm an average student,but I really have loved learning
and sitting in the classroom.
So it was, really sad to beclosing that chapter of my life,
(18:01):
but it was really exciting toknow that I had made a plan for
myself and a goal to law school.
Finally checking that off feltlike the biggest accomplishment
of my lifetime at that point,having my extended family there
was just the icing on the cake.
Miguel Sanchez (18:23):
Brizeyda, what advice would you offer to anyone
who's a first gen college or alaw student who's listening?
Brizeyda (18:32):
I think if you want it, you can have it.
That has been my motto my wholelife.
If you work hard enough, you canobtain whatever goal you set out
for yourself.
It will take a lot of work anddedication.
And it's going to take a lot ofplanning.
School is really expensive.
So it's not a decision that youshould take lightly, but if
(18:56):
that's where your heart istelling you to go, you can
absolutely do it.
And I've seen I have so manyfriends who have had similar
stories as mine, who are reallysuccessful attorneys now.
The, sky really is, the limit.
And you can do it if you wantit, but you have to be,
(19:16):
organized and, apply yourself inways that maybe non first gen
students don't have to.
but.
is totally, totally doable.
If I can do it, you canabsolutely do it.
Miguel Sanchez (19:32):
Well, Brizeyda, this was great.
I appreciate your, uh, your theexperiences you shared with us
today.
I know that they're going tohelp many students who are first
gen college students or lawschool students.
Brizeyda, thank you for speakingwith me today.
Brizeyda (19:50):
Thank you so much.
MacBook Air Microphone (19:51):
Thanks for listening.
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Subscribe to this podcast andshare it with a friend.
Don't forget to leave a review.
Until next time.
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