July 31, 2019

LSSSP's Community and My Future

July 31, 2019/ LAW SCHOOL … Sí Se Puede

By Aluel Doldol, Fellow Class of 2016
University of Notre Dame

College has been the first space I have been in where I was able to make my own decisions. This was of course overwhelming at first but with the guidance of my mentors I was able to navigate this new environment (with hesitation at first then eventually ease). Confidence in my decision making is a necessary skill as I enter my senior year of college at Notre Dame, a year where I will be making a lot of life changing decisions once again.

One of these decisions is the career trajectory I wish to take. I will start studying for the LSAT at the end of the summer when I go back to America from Accra Ghana. I will take the LSAT in the second semester of senior year because I will be taking only 12 credits, to make time for studying for the test. I will also take at least a year off before I begin to apply for law schools. I have discussed my plans for the LSAT with Heidi K, one of my mentors.

I am also consulting my mentors about what to do during the gap year that I will have between law school and undergrad. I recently spoke with Dardoh about the different options that I have. For an example I will look at trying to get some paralegal experience, going into consulting, or another type of corporate path; another direction I can take is the nonprofit trajectory by either teaching, or volunteering; the final opportunities I am looking at is potentially getting a Fulbright to get a masters that will give me research, because I am looking at teaching and becoming a researcher as a professor.

I will of course continue to communicate with my mentors in order to achieve the goals that I have. Because LSSSP is full of people who have shared my struggles I have been lucky enough to not make certain mistakes and to also receive insight into the professional working world, given that my own family has not been working in a white-collar setting. As a first generation professional, I hope to one day be a mentor in LSSSP and provide my own experience as guidance. Thank you to LSSSP for its patience, guidance and unwavering support during my time in college.

“Sí, Se Puede” is a phrase born of farmworkers, who, under the leadership of the UFW, César Chávez, and Dolores Huerta, fought valiantly for equal protection under the law. As a result of the efforts of the UFW, “Sí, Se Puede” has become well known as a call that engenders hope and inspiration in those who face similar battles. We thank the UFW, whom we acknowledge to be the sole and exclusive owner of the Trademark SI SE PUEDE, for granting us a limited license to use“Sí, Se Puede” in connection with our efforts to recruit, in Colorado, students of Hispanic or Latino descent for our law school pipeline program. For more information about the programs offered by the UFW, please see UFW’s webpage (www.ufw.org); UFW Foundation’s webpage (www.ufwfoundation.org); and UFWF’s immigration services webpage (www.sisepuede.org)