The Lucky Ones

I came to law school and met some amazing people.

Last year, someone I am lucky enough to call a friend found out that her mom had pancreatic cancer. This amazing, wonderful, and talented young woman remained the brightest burning star throughout the unthinkably difficult process of losing a mother in an accelerated period of time. On top of dealing with her personal life, she continued pursuing a dual JD/ Masters of Health Administration program across two separate (read: different schedules) universities. Her mother recently ended her time on earth, yet this individual has been as positive and as strong as ever. She continues to be a ray of light to everyone she touches.

This past weekend, members of the Richmond 2013 law school class-- along with several MHA students-- completed a Pancreatic Cancer Awareness walk hosted by St. Christopher's School here in Richmond, VA. Members of our class drove from hours away. This time three years ago, when we  were new to UR, I would have never expected such an inspiring connection with my classmates to form. We came to compete, after all, for everything: jobs, class rank, the best internships. But somewhere along the way we found a community. We found strength in each other. We found whole-hearted joy in each others' accomplishments. And we found out that no matter how much (little) money we make, how hard it feels to be a millennial in the legal system, the impending government shutdown, or even how terrible it was studying for the bar exam and awaiting its ever-looming results, we ARE the lucky ones.

So thank you, Richmond Law, for fostering this community of rag-tag vagabonds who somehow pulled ourselves together enough to become intelligent, educated, and exceedingly capable lawyers. Thank you for showing us how to be outstanding people as well as outstanding attorneys. And thank you for introducing us all to one of the strongest and most inspiring people ANY of us know, the founder and champion of TEAM TINA. No one else could have gotten about 20 law school grads up and functioning on a Saturday morning! 

To donate in honor of TEAM TINA to the Lustgarden Foundation, follow this link.