Saturday, June 2, 2018

With baby in tow, 24-year-old single mom graduates from Harvard Law School

Source Website: http://www.asiaone.com/world/baby-tow-24-year-old-single-mom-graduates-harvard-law-school
By Niña V. Guno, Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network, Asiaone, 01 June 2018


Briana Williams, 24, struggled with reliable childcare.
PHOTO: Briana Williams, 24, struggled with reliable childcare. It was not atypical to see her rushing through Wasserstein to the Dean of Students’ office (DOS) with Evelyn, her baby, in her carriage, requesting the DOS to keep her for a few hours until class was over. If not, she would just have to come with her mother to class. Evelyn attended classes often.
PHOTO: Instagram/lovexbriana
Picture posted by lovexbrianam, Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuUxN4ntvkRWc9Emkk-LxDtv85GAe1131L5AS_mFdbnM2w6w4XNrKA3-CewHTkqKja-qKG-JKvwkUJu2Z2mpBIio4qcXKWPq2VJDAiWvKNY75M80cNxpt4zCmr69Rrx6S65MxX2jog3I/s1600/32718384_305637890001380_8233162142736449536_n.jpg
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BjLFNUHglWh/


Not many 1-year-olds can say they attended a graduation-and in Harvard Law School, at that.

Little Evelyn, dressed in a toga and an academic cap, earned her spot to be at the commencement exercises: after all, she had attended some classes with her mom, 24-year-old Briana Williams.

Williams, a single mother, was teary-eyed and beamed brightly as she carried Evelyn after receiving her Juris Doctor degree.


Briana Williams, 24, a single mother, was teary-eyed and beamed brightly as she carried Evelyn after receiving her Juris Doctor degree.

PHOTO: Briana Williams, 24, a single mother, was teary-eyed and beamed brightly as she carried Evelyn after receiving her Juris Doctor degree.
PHOTO: Instagram/lovexbriana, by lovexbrianam, Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession
Picture posted by Jill Slattery on 01 June 2018
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0lSvohy2ez8KwfttfweK3ekMYKuhkZlq6oMeF-wTRvHJjZOmROjauZVQ1NpiK-skNyGPC34xAMHzDTbwTDBldV9Dv-eC1ijCgu-FpDCYl07RsBUeNeGhrOtMcd-9Hv-qq42xs7U04mRE/s1600/PViFe0joOjrx.jpg
http://www4.pictures.mabelandmoxie.com/mp/PViFe0joOjrx.jpg
http://www.mabelandmoxie.com/Moms+With+Moxie/articles/w5PaMcMysDD/Woman+Took+Final+Exams+While+Labor+Graduated


"To say that my last year of law school, with a newborn, and as a single mom was a challenge would be an understatement," she recounted in her Instagram post.

"I went into labour in April-during final exam period. I immediately requested an epidural so that my contractions wouldn't interfere with my Family Law grade," she said. "And, with tears in my eyes, I finished it."

"Some days I was so mentally and emotionally fatigued that I did not leave my bed," she admitted.


Little Evelyn, dressed in a toga and an academic cap, shaking hand while receiving their Juris Doctor degree.
PHOTO: Little Evelyn, dressed in a toga and an academic cap, shaking hand while receiving their Juris Doctor degree. Her mom's hands were full at the moment. Actually she earned her spot to be at the commencement exercises: after all, she had attended some classes with her mom, 24-year-old Briana Williams.
PHOTO: Instagram/lovexbriana, by lovexbrianam, Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession
Picture posted by Jill Slattery on 01 June 2018
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhunpqt-IsuEzNBTbKV85nK_qrTh9_TZNMqZNiVU3tqM6HkFaD08iZo-BmuS_TNkv3WvywYz_xky1GqiOD4KOLllRxG2MLFSnsIxi46pTKbpWt2H1YUOV9ZEiR16CKMxPOpCm-m_9-Do/s1600/F6FMMV5qXT6x-1.jpg
http://www2.pictures.mabelandmoxie.com/mp/F6FMMV5qXT6x.jpg
http://www.mabelandmoxie.com/Moms+With+Moxie/articles/w5PaMcMysDD/Woman+Took+Final+Exams+While+Labor+Graduated


The logistics of having an infant and studying was a challenge, and at times she would leave her baby in a stroller at the Dean of Students' office to attend class. Otherwise, "Evie" sat in with her.

"I did not think that, at 24 years old, as a single mom, I would be able to get through one of the most intellectually rigorous and challenging positions of my life," she confessed.

"Thank you for giving me the strength and courage to be invincible," she wrote to her child. "Let's keep beating all their odds, baby."

BOOK-SMART AND STREET-SMART
Williams is a self-described "small town girl from the Atlanta" and is the first in her family to graduate from college in a family of six children. She obtained her Legal Studies degree from Saint John's University and graduated magna cum laude.


The first time She stepped on Harvard’s campus was for Admitted Students Weekend. Accompanied by family and close friends.
PHOTO: The first time She stepped on Harvard’s campus was for Admitted Students Weekend. Accompanied by family and close friends. She walked into a classroom of about 20 other students who'd also been accepted. She was afraid. What she would soon identify was being an "imposter syndrome"
PHOTO: Instagram/lovexbriana
Picture posted by lovexbrianam, Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYuhghTs0jK81yj6FxrVTLyKoscgZ6zXJ6cwebl-pdFHHrWceGTZ4sMKCaiLRQjbbkA6Aw-zSYIQZMRI5WQeDI8sassGoraMkC-W8zXXLQ6F826VXTQ97ydoFuVkCJozRHZ6tIpUPUhok/s1600/33164976_2529030370655793_2448949674543939584_n.jpg
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BjTBKSHgR3q/


"I went to college with one suitcase and one pair of shoes, holding on to a bible that my older sister had tucked away in my bag," she recalled.

When she entered Harvard Law School, she was thrust into an environment with the world's brightest minds and felt "scared sh*tless" encountering students from other Ivy League schools. She also had more hurdles to face: besides her studies, her time was consumed working as a waitress and bartender "to get by."

Her father's encouraging words stuck with her: "You got something they don't got - you're street smart. You're book smart AND you're street smart."
When the young mother received her degree, her eyes were covered with tears.

PHOTO: When the young mother received her degree, her eyes were covered with tears. It was for the sake of her daughter, Williams decided to continue her studies and get a degree in Harvard Law School.
Picture posted by navolne.life on 01 June 2018 at 22:05
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmppt6C2_KxnxBpbg2XvUUIXoutzU6KAHZ_DxO0Hs-9ShT8rL_OQiFJaTYRmjHUvCnpch1SsKncEHtUbRe8mk7hA52f6JXCRkeYCelk3f6Rd8jJSQTOqUy62ypmXQql5fTO515wptDBck/s1600/954876-1527876313.jpg
http://www.navolne.life/images/201806/954876-1527876313.jpg
http://www.navolne.life/post/24-letnyaya-mat-odinochka-zakonchila-garvard-teper-ee-lyubyat-milliony-prorvemsya-detka


Williams used her smarts and extraordinary opportunity to learn how to uplift the rights of black people and women. During her third year at Harvard Law, she was the communications director for the Harvard Black Law Students Association.

From her minority background, she found a space to be empowered. "I made sure to engage in courses that contextualized the law with my blackness, femininity, and income strata."

After graduation, she is set to work at "a top law firm in Los Angeles," where she plans to take on pro bono cases.

"At first, I was the anomaly of my [marginalised] community. Then, as a single mother, I became a statistic.

Next, I pray that for the sake of my baby, I will be an example," she said.


Now Williams looks at the law from the position of a black single mother.
PHOTO: Now Williams looks at the law from the position of a black single mother. She thanks God for the experience she has received, and is ready to use it in her work.
Picture posted by navolne.life on 01 June 2018 at 22:05
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdlWXba4Gdvtn4x3TU6rXYWqHojGigseNfwdyhwuCI4FHK-QqNOcDaYotUsHVDaC1bW5meLsWiHhS6ehZJIUE0D5ok_W6Lbo9fF1yPLBqHx3pfJct3Wzk6elAAa5fQT39tGxchO0hkPag/s1600/291758-1527876321.jpg
http://www.navolne.life/images/201806/291758-1527876321.jpg
http://www.navolne.life/post/24-letnyaya-mat-odinochka-zakonchila-garvard-teper-ee-lyubyat-milliony-prorvemsya-detka
 

Daughter, I was told that because of you, I will not succeed ..... But I did it - just because of you.
PHOTO: "Daughter, I was told that because of you, I will not succeed ..... But I did it - just because of you. Thank you for giving me strength and courage - thanks to this, I won."
Picture posted by navolne.life on 01 June 2018 at 22:05
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZW4f3jWKNex_8s5ul7Ed5Qfq6dT6VsUTApcE0HJ3KavYolzOiW8M5IUBo08gJO1WOBYJ_X4V3Yw24MKdN9kkiO0L66Aa2bCFkCmNxZsABBkhGE3y7AjvaVo5yka373WKUWbgI-Cqsw3A/s1600/706362-1527876316.jpg
http://www.navolne.life/images/201806/706362-1527876316.jpg
http://www.navolne.life/post/24-letnyaya-mat-odinochka-zakonchila-garvard-teper-ee-lyubyat-milliony-prorvemsya-detka
 

She also had more hurdles to face: besides her studies, her time was consumed working as a waitress and bartender
PHOTO: She also had more hurdles to face: besides her studies, her time was consumed working as a waitress and bartender "to get by."
Picture posted by navolne.life on 01 June 2018 at 22:05
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihA1FTMB2zLJIM_mDun2wPctXg188WsHaYcGWUylNtsfBZ1KNaMO5W1Gwd5sksOg4S-UcN0_9rBHXslkFVClVtj5TADHia_p3L3te7Zfu7rpfGthn5EzeAPZhwxhyphenhyphenlGa8WtgR-jK5Uo3E/s1600/442358-1527876318.jpg
http://www.navolne.life/images/201806/442358-1527876318.jpg
http://www.navolne.life/post/24-letnyaya-mat-odinochka-zakonchila-garvard-teper-ee-lyubyat-milliony-prorvemsya-detka
 

In The Rain Photography

PHOTO: In The Rain Photography
Picture posted by Kuoma-Stock, Resources & Stock Images / Stock Images / Model / Female / Full Body ©2012-2018 Kuoma-stock - I will be waiting 2
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWq-bMlkvY1uFoitKlT4EDoo1jI8D_is6YvSv_9EjQqmhMJacv1CEF6YyDL0gYnwmzEaumxfne6bTdnQPzQZ-tuE_lLAdDEimgBNeMScd9lxAL1Xv8lfs1eP3W1a24mPfRxYUun93wwuA/s1600/i_will_be_waiting_2_by_kuoma_stock-d58f9qu.jpg
https://img00.deviantart.net/45d6/i/2012/205/4/1/i_will_be_waiting_2_by_kuoma_stock-d58f9qu.jpg
https://kuoma-stock.deviantart.com/art/I-will-be-waiting-2-316480278
 

In The Rain Photography
PHOTO: In The Rain Photography
Picture posted by Kuoma-Stock, Resources & Stock Images / Stock Images / Model / Female / Full Body ©2012-2018 Kuoma-stock - I will be waiting 3
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KlY3gpULQDfrU-tViEc7VQZEHPZMd6EhT_fbHTfO1-xoYFb4H93QdvuBUJ1ZmVPPt5LkVO9h7mOYkb8ZGDpXHKmDIthfBK57RLtfBvitnUwmYKAZboqBJxqStxnu9r8MgdWeG_wzxNo/s1600/i_will_be_waiting_3_by_kuoma_stock-d58f9wc.jpg
https://img00.deviantart.net/48a2/i/2012/205/4/7/i_will_be_waiting_3_by_kuoma_stock-d58f9wc.jpg
https://kuoma-stock.deviantart.com/art/I-will-be-waiting-3-316480476
 

Beautiful in black
PHOTO: Beautiful in black
Picture posted by PhotoAmateur1 (flickr)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5rbZyD_GC_g38BXbTHQMyNYEO5pfIrO2qTvrVIm1bE3LyEScoUu1IWHTba9WHNJ6lXvp9iYlpYIgyFhrrSEz6ANlzbmHAcPpTcH-rnRtm5xCDVLBTmCgMJ9ovceaSAP76Z74JD_B9tk/s1600/10789767844_5bbb81f5ff_b.jpg
https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3699/10789767844_5bbb81f5ff_b.jpg
https://hiveminer.com/Tags/barefoot%2Cgreat/Timeline

By Niña V. Guno, Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network, Asiaone, 01 June 2018



Reference
[1] Niña V. Guno, Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network, Asiaone, With baby in tow, 24-year-old single mom graduates from Harvard Law School, posted on 01 June 2018, http://www.asiaone.com/world/baby-tow-24-year-old-single-mom-graduates-harvard-law-school
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