From a young age, I was driven by curiosity and a desire to make a difference in my community. That passion led me to law school at Wake Forest University, where I threw myself into trial advocacy, litigation clinics, and clerkships — the traditional path carved out for litigators. As a first-generation American, I didn’t have exposure to the wide variety of careers a legal education could lead to, so I followed the path I thought was best: litigation.

Once I stepped fully into practice, something felt off. I valued the work, but the litigation aspects — hearings, drafting motions, endless filings, billable hours — drained me. Where I came alive was in different spaces: connecting with clients, investigating complex workplace issues, and finding solutions that mitigated risk. That internal tension made me realize that the traditional associate to partner path wasn’t for me. I wondered what else I could do in my legal career, and asked bigger questions: Are there other versions of practicing employment law? What else could a lawyer be? And how can I build a career that feels true to me, not just my title?