Essay from 2018 Scholarship Winner Geremy Garcia

Why I Want to be a Lawyer by Geremy Garcia

My name is Geremy Garcia. I’m a second year (2L) law student at Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I decided that I wanted to become an attorney in my senior year of college after speaking to an oil and gas attorney. At the time, I was studying geology and thought it would be a smart move to go to law school to become an oil and gas attorney, especially with my background in the oil and gas industry. In hindsight, it was probably a rash decision based on this oil and gas attorney’s lavish lifestyle. Reflecting on it today, I know it was one of the best decisions I’ll ever make.

I’ve always had big aspirations for myself and I hated settling for mediocrity. I knew I wanted to do something with my life that would help other people, be competitive within my field, produce a nice lifestyle for myself and my family, and would continue to challenge me well throughout my career. For the longest time, I had no clue what that profession would be though. I bounced around from major to major in school from architecture, engineering, business, and finally to geology.

When I got to law school, I immediately saw the competitive nature of the profession. After taking a few classes, I was ecstatic with my decision to get a Juris Doctor degree. The material we studied, my classmates, and my professors challenged me to think outside of the box and really get a grasp on all of the material. Growing up, I loved the game of chess. After my first semester in law school, I began to think of this profession as a huge game of chess, where one must anticipate his opponent’s next move in order to prevail.

After my first year in law school, I wasn’t successful in locking down an internship or a clerkship, but I was determined to find something. I printed off 50 copies of my resume and looked up every law firm in Corpus Christi, Texas. I wrote down their addresses and planned to walk in and hand someone my resume, in hopes that a law firm in the area would be looking for summer help. Out of my comfort zone, I tuned out the first few “no’s” and dealt with the rejection, continuing to move onto the next law firm on my list because I was set on finding something. I walked into the Law Offices of Alex R. Hernandez, Jr. I walked out of the office feeling on top of the world and determined to get the job.

After speaking to Mr. Hernandez the next morning, he gave me a summer job. That summer really changed my perspective of the legal profession. It was not only challenging and competitive but also the number of people that I got to help was amazing. The spectrum of people that I got to help was awesome; from people much less fortunate than myself to people who are much more fortunate than I am. This gave me so much more to look forward to when I get out of law school. I hope to be an individual in my future community that people look up to and come to in their time of need. I’m excited and strive to be someone that is turned to when someone does not know how to handle certain situations and needs advice or serious help with a legal situation.

Working under Mr. Hernandez, he showed me that lawyers are extremely knowledgeable in so many aspects of life. Because of that, being someone who knows so much about so many things in everyday life, how to handle a multitude of situations, and being able to use the knowledge and education that I was blessed with and fortunate to receive is ultimately what motivates me to become an attorney.

Geremy Garcia is a lawyer in Louisiana graduating from Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA and a graduate of Texas Tech University in Lubbock and Richard King High School in Corpus Christi Texas. He is a Corpus Christi Texas native.

Thank you for the essay Geremy, your hard work and dedication to the study of law are honorable. Being an attorney today is no longer easy, there are many many lawyers graduating and have flooded the market of lawyers. Lawyers rank # 1 in Best Social Services Jobs by US News.com. The future looks good for lawyers in general although the market is competitive. The stress level is high but being an attorney can be rewarding. 

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We look forward to you being a lawyer and maybe with our firm if you decide to come back home to Corpus Christi Texas.  Alex R. Hernandez Jr. Attorney at Law.