Miguel Sanchez : 0:10

Welcome to first gen 1 0 1. The podcast where first-generation graduates share their stories and career tips. I am your host. Miguel Sanchez. In this episode. talks about the power of perseverance. Family support. Uh, strategic planning, offering advice for first gen students and aspiring attorneys. Listen, learn and be inspired today. Welcome to another episode of the first gen one on one podcast. Today I have Brizeyda. Thank you for being here today.

Brizeyda: 0:45

Thank you for having me.

Miguel Sanchez : 0:48

Brizeyda, let's get right into it. Tell us about your background.

Brizeyda: 0:52

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, the process was really hard for me because I didn't know anything. I had, I was going in it completely blindly. so I. Well, to do a lot of the, research myself, which was really hard and isolating, was empowering as well because I was able to get myself to a decent state university, with a scholarship, which was unheard of at that time, for non citizens. I think that the reason why I've been so successful is because I've leaned into, and relied heavily upon my community to help guide me through the process. So

Miguel Sanchez : 1:51

And Brizeyda, can you tell us where you attended school and, where did you grow up

Brizeyda: 1:55

I grew up in South Florida in Fort Lauderdale. I went to the University of Florida for my undergrad, go Gators.

Miguel Sanchez : 2:03

You mentioned it was difficult to research, you did it mostly on your own. How did you choose your college?

Brizeyda: 2:13

I think that I was persuaded because I liked that it was a larger university, that had a very diverse student population. It is a really good school to go to. And a lot of my friends are applying, which is part of the reason why I applied to go there, to be honest. The reason why I chose to go there was because I attended, one of their, admitted students, events and I really liked the campus culture. My mom felt safe because as a first gen student, you know, parents also, this is new for them too.

Miguel Sanchez : 2:54

Yes.

Brizeyda: 2:55

She felt safe in the community, like letting me leave home and be on my own for the first time. It was reassuring to me that, she felt like it was good for me to take.

Miguel Sanchez : 3:08

How was your mom involved in the college selection process?

Brizeyda: 3:14

I was really blessed to have been raised by a terrific single mother who has been really involved in, my life and studies and has always supported me. She doesn't have the knowledge about how the application process works, but she's always been there. I've, always tried to make me, have meetings with, advice, like, the staff at the schools. So she would always take me to those or whenever there was, You know, college fairs, she would always go with me to those. And she also has gone to all of the admitted students events that they, you know, that those universities have, provided for us. So she has been, tremendous moral support for me throughout the years.

Miguel Sanchez : 4:01

When you said the other admitted student events, did you attend more than one? What were some of the other universities you were considering?

Brizeyda: 4:08

I actually didn't apply to a lot of them. I think if I were to do it again, I would have applied to more. It. so happened that things ended up working out in my favor, but very well could not have been that way. I think I only applied to other schools. The University of Miami being one of them, Southeastern University, which is a really local university, was another and Florida Atlantic University was my fourth. Because there were so few of them, I was able to have meetings with, the admissions staff. at each school, which was a plus. I highly recommend if there's a school that is top on your list, if there's an opportunity for you to have a one on one in person meeting, that is such a valuable thing to do. but so those are those schools that I applied to. Thankfully was able to. have a choice because I was to all of them. And I decided to go to UF.

Miguel Sanchez : 5:12

When you left home to go to college, How was that last day before leaving home? How was the departure of being away from home for the first time? And what was your mom's reaction?

Brizeyda: 5:25

It was actually a family affair. I remember my uncle drove me because it's a six hour drive from South Florida to Gainesville, Florida. We had, his van all packed up with my things. My mom came and my sister came. it was, really touching that, they all took the time to, take me to the school and help me set up my room at an apartment that I was renting, with other students. It was really great because. I have relied heavily on family for support. And you know, they've showed up big time for me. So it was really emotionally charged because a lot of my family was there. There were some tears the first few days. I'm not gonna lie. I wondered if I had made the right choice being so far away from my family, but what kept me grounded was that I wanted to do better for myself and my family and to be in a better position, not just financially, I knew that this was the only way I could get to where I wanted to be.

Miguel Sanchez : 6:33

Now you're at, University of Florida. It's your first semester. What were some of the challenges during your first semester?

Brizeyda: 6:42

Being away from my family was definitely a huge challenge. We've always lived within minutes of each other. so not having the opportunity to visit with, my aunt my uncle and my little cousins who I was really close to. Was really difficult. It was also a huge culture shock. because for the first time I was with students, not of my same background. I really started to sink in how vastly different my upbringing was than everyone else's. And it seems like I was in an island and. That no one else, you know, could relate to because for the most part, the people I was sitting in classes with were coming from affluent backgrounds with parents who had professional degrees or, had attended, college. And, you know, here I was a first gen students, my mom, you know, didn't even finish high school. it was a huge culture shock for me. So I had to. Look for my own community of people who I could relate to and who I could rely on for support as well.

Miguel Sanchez : 7:57

While you were in school, and you mentioned you relied on your community. How did you find community at your university?

Brizeyda: 8:05

There are a lot of, student organizations that, I joined. One of them was for Latino students. Very great to have people of my similar, ethnic background and culture. Another, group that was really instrumental was the, immigrants rights student group, Because a lot of the members were either immigrants themselves or children of immigrants. And we clicked instantly because of that.

Miguel Sanchez : 8:39

During the process, while you're connecting with other students of similar background, similar experiences, did you have any mentors, any professors, anyone from the university staff or faculty who helped you understand the culture of college and how to overcome some of those challenges?

Brizeyda: 9:04

You know, that's one of the biggest. Regrets I have is not, tapping into that earlier because it, didn't happen for me until my senior year of college, going to a larger university does have its downfalls and one of them is that you can feel like you're lost in the shuffle and that you maybe don't want to burden your professors, with, you know, taking extra time from them because they, they have thousands of other, students but you'll learn throughout your journey that a lot of these professors, reason why they've gone into this, career is because they truly want to make a difference in their students lives. they thrive when you thrive. And, they're really, really, invested in giving you your best, you know, experience and helping you in whatever way possible. So for me, that didn't happen until 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 to write these recommendations for me. I have to have more face time with these professors. And I did and then I, started to know my professors in a more meaningful way. They were able to impart a lot of knowledge that helped me in my law school application process.

Miguel Sanchez : 10:35

At what point did you realize that you wanted to be a lawyer and why did you decide 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, but it's always been my dream to be an attorney. I didn't really know what type of law I wanted to study until undergrad when I took an immigration class I realized how many people were completely misinformed about the immigration system and how deeply flawed it is. At that point, I realized that I wanted 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 selecting your law school?

Brizeyda: 11:28

I was more methodical and more organized this time around. And I did apply to many more schools. because you have to, there are so many students who want to pursue law school. It's a numbers game. So you have to apply to several schools. And so I did, I made a list. I was, I had a spreadsheet with all of the schools that I wanted to, that I had some interest in. And I tried to learn as much as possible about. the schools and the programs they 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 email address. They invited me to a webinar I've never heard of PACE Law. I'm from South Florida. You know, PACE is in White Plains, New York. I attended because they promised an application fee waiver if you attended. I went and, one of my questions was, do you have any immigration programs that might be good for me because I want to be an immigration attorney. That's when I learned about the immigration clinic at Pace. And that's really what sold me into 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 students day and I went to that. My mom also went with me. As did my aunt. We are a really tight knit family. and mom loved the campus. She thought it was beautiful. And based on that alone, she said, this is where you need to go. They had like cherry blossoms and it was springtime and it was beautiful. So she's like, this seems peaceful. This is where you should go. Again, like the safety factor for her. And for me, I actually was not sure because I was debating between other schools that day, that I, that I went to administer and say that was actually the last day that my deadline that PACE had given me to, Either commit or, or, or tell'em that I wasn't attending. So it was a really big deal for me to figure out in one day's time whether or not I wanted to go to this school. I ended up meeting with Professor Merton, who was overseeing the Immigration Clinic 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 also to the students, we ended up having a great conversation and I walked out of that conversation. I signed my letter, and presented 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 an undergrad student that I didn't get the best experience because I didn't utilize all of the tools and resources available at my undergraduate school. So going into law school, I fully intended on taking advantage of all of the services offered by my school um, And who were instrumental in my entire law school journey, as were other professors who have been mentors 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 of law school?

Brizeyda: 15:04

My process wasn't, I've had a clear vision about what I wanted to do, for a while. I actually, as, as I was sitting my internship as a 1L, doing research because I wanted to do some sort of fellowship. program after law school. I didn't want to, get a job with a law firm right out because I wanted to have more of a mentorship type job built into it. So I was looking at fellowships and came across one that was new at that time. It's called the, immigrant justice core fellowship and I learned of that my one year and it became my mission to. have that be my number one, job choice, I focused on that and, other fellowships that were like it. That was definitely my number one choice.

Miguel Sanchez : 15:59

You mentioned you decided to go to college because not only would it help you, but it would help your family. How would you say college and law school has transformed your life and also your family's life?

Brizeyda: 16:15

in so many ways, for those of us who are first gen students of, lower economic means, security is really big because oftentimes we grew up not having much security, having our family members, do jobs that they can get for whatever they can get, I've seen my mom be exploited, and put up with, really harsh working conditions because she didn't have a choice. She had, mouths to feed. and I definitely wanted to make sure that I did whatever I could to put myself in a better situation so that I could make sure that she was, happy. More financially stable later on in life, I knew that getting a higher education is one of the few routes towards, mobility, so, that was something I was aware of at an early age, and I wanted to make sure that my family was more stable. I was. choosing a career that would, give me the financial stability and job security that I needed to feel more, secure in my own future.

Miguel Sanchez : 17:30

what were some of the things that came to mind during your law school graduation.

Brizeyda: 17:37

My law school graduation was definitely more, impactful for me, because I knew I was closing the chapter of my academic career. I have always loved school not because 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 be closing that chapter of my life, but it was really exciting to know that I had made a plan for myself and a goal to law school. Finally checking that off felt like 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 a law student who's listening?

Brizeyda: 18:32

I think if you want it, you can have it. That has been my motto my whole life. If you work hard enough, you can obtain whatever goal you set out for yourself. It will take a lot of work and dedication. And it's going to take a lot of planning. School is really expensive. So it's not a decision that you should take lightly, but if that's where your heart is telling you to go, you can absolutely do it. And I've seen I have so many friends who have had similar stories as mine, who are really successful attorneys now. The, sky really is, the limit. And you can do it if you want it, but you have to be, organized and, apply yourself in ways that maybe non first gen students don't have to. but. is totally, totally doable. If I can do it, you can absolutely do it.

Miguel Sanchez : 19:32

Well, Brizeyda, this was great. I appreciate your, uh, your the experiences you shared with us today. I know that they're going to help many students who are first gen college students or law school students. Brizeyda, thank you for speaking with me today.

Brizeyda: 19:50

Thank you so much.

MacBook Air Microphone: 19:51

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