Why I want to be an Attorney by Dara

Why I want to be an Attorney by Dara - April 2025 Scholarship Essay

I plan to major in Law & Justice with a minor in English at the University of Kentucky. I chose this major because of my older cousin.
In 2012 my older cousin was sentenced to twelve years in prison at the ripe age of seventeen; today he is free, but over the course of these past twelve years his imprisonment has been a significant part of my life for as long as I can remember.
At just four years old, I remember traveling to Florida and staying for months because my mom and grandmother were trying to help him in any way possible. I remember the stress and sadness amongst everyone around me; at the time I could not fully comprehend or understand, but over time I started to feel and understand that sadness. Throughout the past twelve years, I have been to a few different prisons to visit him, being patted down and searched to then spend a limited amount of time with him to ultimately leave him behind and go back to my normal life in the outside world. I looked forward to going to visit him in prison, which is odd because no one, but especially no child, should look forward to visiting a loved one in prison. When we were not able to visit, we had to wait for him to call us and talk for fifteen minutes max. Again, I looked forward to those calls when that should not have necessarily been the case. Living through this and seeing how it has affected my family has inspired and encouraged me to pursue a career in law.
Seeing families like mine affected by the unfairness and corruptness of the justice system urges me to want to make a change so other children do not have to experience what I experienced. I am choosing to study law to help families like mine from marginalized communities navigate the justice system. I want to give those who feel as though they do not have a voice, a voice. I also want to attend law school and become a criminal defense attorney. My only concern for this dream is if I will have the finances to make it through both undergraduate and graduate school. I plan to take advantage of work-study and additional job opportunities to help fund my education, but even then I am still uncertain if I will have the means to fund my education. This scholarship would assist me in becoming an attorney. The support would allow me to make a difference so that other kids do not have to experience what I experienced.