Page 29 - Delaware Lawyer - Winter 2019

people along. Being accessible and approachable. I found an unlikely mentor in a blond-haired, blue-eyed white male at my firm. He would look out for me. If he had a board meeting or client event, he would invite me. I picked up his spirit of mentorship and I try to do the same thing.
TM: For me, it started before I passed the bar, I was taking the Minority Supplemental Bar Review Course. One of the members came up to me, out of nowhere, and said, “you need to figure this out.” He was tough and supportive. He did not know me, but was very much willing to say, “here’s what you need to do.” It was a minority man. He was very much about reaching back and helping people. I’ve tried to do that throughout the years. When you’ve made it to where you want to be, you should reach back and bring people with you. That’s how you make a positive change.
PW: I interviewed here since I was a second-year. There was a diverse male that kept bringing me back. I didn’t un- derstand it at the time, but he was put-
When you’ve made it to where you want to be, you should reach back and bring people with you. That’s how
you make a positive change.
ting my face out there. He was the one who showed me the ropes when I got here. He was tough. He had such high expectations. It wasn’t in a bad way. He wanted me to be successful; that’s what
it was about. Seeing how he functioned within the firm, how he handled certain issues, his priorities — one of which was diversity — he worked very hard to make this a diverse place. One of the ways was recruiting, going to the job fairs for diverse applicants and making sure to bring them in — I was one of them. And when it came to assignments, he would ask me, “do you have stuff to work on?”
There was also a white male partner; to this day, he always makes sure I am included. It’s wonderful to have that and I don’t think I would have lasted here had I not had those two people at my firm. I don’t think that would have been possible. You take that help and in turn, help others.
Now, we have the most women in our group that we have ever had. So, part of it is just making sure we are all connected and figure out ways to help each other. Also, in the community, talking to other women and saying, “we have to help each other, because if we don’t, how are we going to suc- ceed?” Make sure you give back.
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