Oh, the Places You'll Go!

After researching law schools day in and day out, I found an event called "Women in International Law Networking Breakfast." It seemed like it was screaming my name, so I did what every Glenn Fellow with enhanced networking skills might do, and I asked a charismatic lawyer from my organization if he knew any of the women on the panel. Ding-ding-ding! He knew two of the five! I was half surprised and half unfazed because he seems to know EVERYONE. Being the nice guy that he is, he e-mailed the two women to let them know I would be attending, and gave me a glowing recommendation which was touching since I know he's very busy.

On my way to the breakfast, I was preparing myself to meet Yale Law after Harvard Law after Stanford Law graduate, but it was a pleasantly surprising mix. There were, of course, the obligatory Ivies, but everyone had a different and interesting story. I was most struck by the passion that the women on the panel expressed for their jobs. How often does someone truly love their job?

One of the women had volunteered in Mauritania leading gender and development work through the Peace Corps. After this, she attended NYU Law and now works at Physicians for Human Rights. Her story was especially inspiring to me because of how bold she was. Before accepting her offer with the Peace Corps, she was also accepted into law school for that year. After days of feeling up in the air, she let her gut lead her into a meaningful two years of bettering women's lives in Mauritania.

This story hit home for me because I've actually gone through the entire Peace Corps application and am a few finger prints away from being able to serve (if I am brave enough). I've gone back and forth a lot wondering if it would stunt my career growth potential, but the women on the panel all seemed to encourage risk-taking, and as Mr. Aronowitz said, "taking the winding path over the straight path." My only concern, then, would be the differing views people have of the Peace Corps, but that's "a whole 'nother can of worms."

Overall, the women reiterated the importance of risk-taking, necessity of learning languages, and how critical it is to be passionate about one's work. This panel was brilliant, inspiring, and so cognitively diverse that it may very well be the highlight of my D.C. experience thus far.

Thanks for reading, friends.

SHF