By Maria de Los Angeles (Angie) Bustillos, Fellow Class of 2019
University of Denver
In a time when it is so easy to get caught up on thinking about how lonely you feel, how unfortunate it is that your first year of college “got cut short,” and all the opportunities missed by not being able to interact in person with individuals outside of your family, I think of all the opportunities that I did have and the comunidad that I was able to build in my time with Law School Yes, We Can (LSYWC). I feel so fortunate and proud to be a part of a community that empowers one another, supports one another, and is there to remind you of your potential. One of my favorite parts about being at the University of Denver was being able to interact frequently with the other fellows in my class around campus, from going to the gym together, to attending events together, to having somebody to talk to in classrooms with no other familiar faces.
But being a part of a community is not just about others and how you interact with them, it is also about being able to see and understand you and where you fit in. I really enjoyed the workshops and opportunities that LSYWC gave me, they helped me understand my personality better, understand some of the implications of practicing law, and be able to enter the heart of the legal community in Colorado - while also getting to wear my new dress. I must admit that there were times when I did question whether or not I could ever fit in a place where none of my family has gone before, but then I recall the first time I got to attend the Judicial Excellence Awards.
I remember my mentor offered me to join her for the ceremony. I was so excited to go but also incredibly nervous. I arrived early, before my mentor, and for a second I stood alone petrified in a room of a lot of important individuals, feeling like I might not belong. Then I remember someone just walking up to me and asking me what firm I was with, as a college undergraduate freshman, such a question made me feel honored. When told this individual I was actually not even in law school yet and instead was a part of a program called Law School Yes We Can, instead of just stopping their conversation with me, this person lit up and introduced me to some of their colleagues. It was at this moment that I felt like I could have a place here, that my dreams were feasible, and that I could fit in and LSYWC gave me that opportunity. Law School Yes We Can gave me a place where I feel like I can pursue my dreams, have the guidance and tools from my mentors to guide me to achieve my dreams and friends to support my dreams. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect amidst this pandemic, and despite how lonely I have felt, I am not alone. Law School Yes We Can gave me a comunidad, a community.
