Why I Want to be a Lawyer - Admission/Application Essay Example

Marissa Morris Personal Essay A malnourished child with orange hair impacted me to change my attitude towards life forever. I’ve grown up like most Americans, seeing the sporadic ads on television to help the starving, poor and bald children in Africa. However, the moment that I held a child and realized that this little girl with orange hair may or may not live to see her next birthday, I missed my heartbeats. I have always been content with the worldly pleasures. My life has been extraordinarily happy and blessed. Home for me is a small, mountain town nestled in the great Rocky Mountains, Leadville, Colorado. There are pleasant surprises around each and every corner: museums tucked with history, quaint little coffee houses, elegant Victorian bed and breakfasts, the greatest of antique and gift shops, and people leisurely living life and enjoying themselves. A short distance from the scene of my childhood, I have had the pleasure of enjoying a wonderful husband, incredible five-year-old twin boys, and becoming a business woman, successful beyond my wildest dreams. I have been privileged to thrive at a professional level in intellectually stimulating environment for more than fifteen years. I am highly motivated accomplished professional. For the past eight years, I have served as a partner at a company named Tabernus. Within ten months of my tenure at the company, I was named President and CEO. In my tenure, in both September 2002 and September 2003, Tabernus was named as one of Deloitte and Touche’s top 50 fastest growing technical companies in Colorado. I still remain a partner in this company, which is now thriving under new majority owning partners who reside in Austin, TX. My impact on the technology market in Denver has been proven by my efforts assisting in: the launch of one of Colorado’s most successful IPOs where I served as a company director; a company valuation that increased by more than 500% in one year where I served as a company director; and another company yielding annual growth of more than 60% where I served as a key engineering manager. My experience has served clients representing a variety of industries including communications, financial services, utility, retail, healthcare, and insurance. I have worked successfully with some of the best known Fortune 500 companies including: Hewlett Packard, Seagate, IBM, Dell, Maxtor, Mountain Optech, Sony, Sun Microsystems (formerly Storage Tek), etc. Being a successful leader, I can handle varied personalities having different temperaments, cultures, values, beliefs, religions, and behaviours. When not working on contributing to the growth of my latest business venture, I have been found serving the Denver community by participating in various community and volunteer activities. For the past five years, I got a chance to volunteer on a weekly basis at my church, WaterStone Community Church located in Littleton, Colorado in various following capacities: Director of Publicity / Care Group Leader for the Mothers of Preschoolers Program Research assistant for volunteer database program effort Coordinator for small groups within church to raise funds via a “Scrips” program Member of the committee to determine strategic renaming and rebranding of the church\ Mission support My largest volunteer contribution to my church was two week mission trip in October of 2008 to Kankan, Guinea that would forever change the outlook of my life. On this trip, I had been assigned various duties. I worked on computers for different missionary teams, assisted with a Vacation Bible School that our church sponsored for the Children’s House Samaritan Center in Guinea, and worked with the poor in the most remote of villages. The observations I made on the trip reeked of the social injustices of this world. There were women who would work all day, just to earn two dollars a day to try to feed their families. Children were corrected by being beaten with a stick. Guinean army soldiers would drag pieces of wood across the road in hopes of being paid a bribe. People, who were ill, were kept in a hospital that was in such poor structural condition. Not to mention that the local hospital didn’t even feed its patients. The homes in the villages were smaller than my kitchen and families often shared one bed. Children were covered with bug bites, their teeth were rotting from lack of dental care, their clothes were frequently plagued with holes, and very few children had shoes etc. etc. etc. I got deeply hurt and saddened when I held little girl with orange hair. This moment shook my heart and awakened me. I realize that I cannot be selfish to continue living my own life as though I don’t know that these unfair treatments exist. This brought important transformation in my life. This is the reason to pursue legal studies. My composure, common sense, and ability to plan several steps ahead have already given me great success in the Denver business community. I am aware that true leader can develop attitude of togetherness and integrity. I now want to use these skills to assist those in need and to fight for those who are innocent victims of social injustices. I want to use my voice in the realm of the law, calling out "not fair" for those who have not been heard. I want to have a positive influence on the lives of women, children, and all people, be it in the civil or criminal realm, and in law school I hope to gain the tools to do just that. The challenge of researching and analyzing an unknown subject is the most enjoyable part of academic life. Now that I have become one of the industry's top representatives, I am looking for a new, more-lasting intellectual challenge. I want to take advantage of my technical and business background for the social cause. I intend to study Family and Civil Rights Law and then work for a human rights organization post graduation. Then, my entire endeavor throughout this journey will be precious when I become a lawyer. My conscious mind has taken responsibility to ensure promising future to all unfairly treated individuals. Given a chance I would able to fulfill, preserve and cherish the desire to contribute positively towards society and nurture the smile of underprivileged people. Read More