Navigating higher education as a first-generation student is a journey marked by resilience, determination, and the courage to step into the unknown. Sharing stories of first-generation students not only celebrates their achievements but also inspires future generations to break barriers. Meet Dayana, an aspiring lawyer and pre-law student who reflects this spirit. She is a senior double majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Law and History, and she is passionate about gaining hands-on experience in the public sector of the legal field, with particular interests in immigration law and criminal prosecution.
1. What were the particular values your family emphasized that later shaped your desire to pursue a legal career?
Growing up in a Hispanic household, there were a lot of morals and values that were ingrained in me. My parents and I, including both sets of my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, are all immigrants from El Salvador. Navigating and overcoming the language barrier, both at school and in the workplace, was something that I struggled with at a young age. Although they did not receive an education, my parents always supported me emotionally and financially, while still motivating and reminding me to work hard for my dreams. I personally experienced the hardships of the immigration system in the United States, as well as witnessed my other family members go through the system. Pursuing a legal career would not only honor our heritage, our journey, and our values, but it would also put me in a position and give me the profession to help other immigrants looking for a better future in this country, as my family did. The hard work, determination, motivation, and perseverance values that my family emphasized, as well as our personal experiences with the immigration judicial system, shaped my desire to pursue a legal career, more specifically in the field of immigration and social justice.
2. Your work and experience span student support, outreach, and legal advocacy. How do these experiences connect you to your mission as a first-gen student pursuing justice-centered areas of law? What does pursuing immigration and criminal prosecution law mean to you on a personal or community level?
My experiences in all three areas have allowed me to develop strong interpersonal, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and de-escalation skills, all of which are important in any profession, especially in the law. They are connected to my mission as a first-generation student because they have set the foundation for me to properly assist others in my community. For example, if I’m ever in the situation where one of my clients I am representing in the future experiences a traumatic experience and needs counseling, I’d know the proper steps to take to help them because of my experience in student support and legal advocacy. Although I am not the person providing the counseling, I’d know how to better support them in providing the right resources and helping reach a solution for them and their case. Furthermore, my experience with outreach will be useful to plan community events with my future employers to educate the public about their rights and inform them of important resources if they ever find themselves in a legal dispute. Especially in the current political and social climate, establishing a community for people is more important than people think because we become stronger when we come together.
3. What does pursuing immigration and criminal prosecution law mean to you on a personal or community level?
Pursuing a legal career in immigration or criminal prosecution means the world to me on a deeply personal level. I come from an almost entirely immigrant family, and we endured the prolonged, uncertain waiting periods of the immigration system just to obtain the first document legalizing our presence in the United States. Entering immigration law would allow me to repay the blessings my family has received and become the resource my parents did not initially have. I am bilingual, and I carry that skill that connects me to my roots, allowing me to communicate with other Hispanics, and broadens my network to help me deliver the best possible solutions to my future clients. No matter what area of law I ultimately practice, the mere fact that I have pursued higher education despite the challenges my family endured is profoundly meaningful to me. Moreover, I want to share everything I have accomplished at Binghamton with my younger siblings as a form of guidance and support, because I know what it is like to navigate these spaces without it. Just as I hope to serve immigrant families in ways mine could not access, I also want to use my experience as a first-generation college student to help ensure my siblings succeed in higher education. On a broader community level, I want to help underrepresented and low-income families gain legality in a country that often pushes them out, despite how deeply dependent it is on Hispanic communities. The immigration system is cruel, tedious, unjust, and confusing, but immigrants are everything it is not: hardworking, resilient, determined, and strong. Pursuing a legal career would allow me to demonstrate the contributions Hispanics make to the United States beyond the labor our families have long provided, while helping immigrant families move forward in their journeys toward citizenship.
4. What challenges have you faced as a first-generation student navigating pre-law pathways?
Being a first-generation student comes with lots of unique challenges, but as someone who is actively trying to pursue a legal profession, paving my own path has been my biggest challenge at Binghamton. It’s common for students who are not first-gen to come to Binghamton already knowing what career they want to pursue or at least already having a network of people to guide them through the process, beginning with their parents, for example. Unfortunately, that is not the same experience for first-generation students because we did not have family members doing what we are doing now, pursuing higher education and making a new life for ourselves. Now that I am a senior and the time for graduation is getting closer by the day, my imposter syndrome has amped up because it feels like I am not actively doing enough to continue to excel. I often compare myself to other pre-law students and think that I am very far behind because either others have secured a full-time job already, or applied and accepted into law school, or even begun studying for the LSAT. I decided I am going to take a couple of gap years to gain more legal experience and save some money for law school, but getting those constant reminders from other students with a background different from mine, doing different things, is what makes me feel like I am not doing the right thing. I have to keep reminding myself that everyone is on their own path and no two are the same, and that our minds are our biggest enemies. It’s important as first-generation students to know that being first-generation is our strength and not our weakness because it should give us more motivation to try new things and expand our horizons. We are setting the bar for ourselves and our younger family members, and as long as we stay focused on our studies and extracurricular activities, we will go as far as we’re intended to go.
5. Who have been the mentors that have guided you, and how have they helped you navigate spaces where the path wasn’t always clear?
Although I have never had one sole role model whose path I have shadowed, my supervisors in the Harpur Edge office have guided and helped me navigate all the paths I’ve expressed interest in. The director and assistant director of Harpur Edge, Erin Cody and Megan Konstantakos, have served as mother figures who supported me throughout my hardest moments at Binghamton, big or small. In a professional sense, they’ve encouraged me to network with reputable alumni, research internship opportunities, and shared essential resources that have served me well. However, in a personal way, Erin and Megan both have listened to me intently, consoled me when my family was too far away to do so, grounded me, advised me, and made me feel at home. Erin and Megan have been able to show me my own success through their eyes and never fail to push me toward the right direction. Because of them, Harpur Edge became my refuge and the place that raised me. I’ll forever be grateful for their guidance because only God knows where I’d be without them.
6. What advice do you wish someone had given when you first started your college journey?
I wish someone had sat me down at the beginning of my freshman year and told me that everything would fall into place on its own and at the right time. I was ambitious in my freshman year and would still consider myself to be ambitious now, but it’s also important to let things unfold on their own. It’s important to acknowledge that it’s okay not to have everything figured out and that success is not determined by how many connections you have on LinkedIn, how many organizations you’re a part of, how many internships or volunteer opportunities are on your resume, or how high your GPA is. Part of the beauty of being a college student is that life is not yet serious in undergrad. It is serious in the sense that you should work hard and keep track of your goals and prepare your professional foundation, but also to play hard. All the opportunities that are meant for you will find you at the time that is right for you, which is something that I’ve come to learn in my later years at Binghamton. This is a piece of advice that I’ve received more frequently as a senior, but it’s something I’d like to share with my younger siblings when it is their turn to attend college.
