Law Students

The Mentor Effect
By: John Garcia

As a first-year law student, I sometimes ask myself, “How did I end up here?” I don’t ask that question in any negative sense, but rather in the sense that I am amazed that I am here to begin with. Most (if not all) current law students have taken on the task of law school under the advice of a family member or friend already in the legal community. I was compelled to enter law school under the guidance of a sitting judge who asked me, “Why don't you become a lawyer?” That one simple question, both honest and with good intentions, changed my entire life.

My law school experience thus far is that we all shuffle from class to class, spending hours in the library, with every color highlighter imaginable staining our fingers. We study long hours for what seems like an eternity during finals. What I really want to know is, “What am I really getting myself into?” That is where I believe TYLA comes in. I believe TYLA members have the answer we law students are looking for.

TYLA members are in the unique position to offer first-year law students some great advice on what to expect upon finishing law school and passing the bar. Offering your time to speak to law students during the lunch hour is another chance to connect and mentor law students at your alma mater. These encounters do not go unnoticed. It is a chance for you to make a real difference in an aspiring attorney’s life. During our 1L orientation, we had four local attorneys come in and describe what to expect during our first year. I looked around the auditorium and noticed that everyone in the room was hooked. For the first time, we were hearing what to expect out of this experience from practicing professionals. They answered all of our questions, and they did so with passion, honesty, and a nerve-calming touch of humor.

Speaking at the law school or providing a mentorship won’t take much of your time, but your experience is invaluable to students who are eager to hear about your experiences. Your guidance is desperately needed. How are oil and gas attorneys doing as we see gas prices continue to drop? What is a typical workweek for a prosecutor? What is it like running for public office? Members of TYLA have answers to these questions. Law schools host lunch forums quite often. We might be enticed by a few slices of pizza, but one thing is for certain: Law students are all ears.

It doesn't have to stop there. If you are not in the vicinity of your alma mater, maybe you can drop by a local university and speak to a group of pre-law undergrads who just need someone to tell them how to do it—how to get where they want to go. I consider myself very lucky to have a mentor who showed me how to get where I wanted to go. Give your alma mater a call. Tell them your specialty. Host a forum. Who knows, you might also pick up a few good interns for the summer.

John D. Garcia, a Corpus Christi native, is the president of the 1L class at Texas Tech School of Law.