Welcome to our returning board members and some brand new board members including Vanessa Ferguson, Kim Lopater, and Abigail Dean (Class of 2020 alum). Check out their podcast episodes to get to know them better and find out why they decided to join us in our journey.

We will be celebrating five years of service in 2023! Look out for details on our celebration event including opportunities for sponsorship! 

By: Jessica Sivillo

Dr. Steve Maraboli said, "To embark on the journey towards your goals and dreams requires bravery. To remain on that path requires courage. The bridge that merges the two is commitment." To the Class of 2022, congratulations on accomplishing all of your goals thus far! You should be proud of your continued bravery, courage, and commitment.

​During the spring semester of 2022, I had the pleasure of interning as the Blog Editor for the Journey to Esquire Scholarship & Leadership Program. As I participated in the Program's modules and connected with other interns and scholars, I realized that we all share a common theme in our journeys. Each of us have a different story, and we must all embrace our "why."

We all started the journey to esquire for a different reason. Some of us want to change the world and others want to be a voice for the voiceless. The Journey to Esquire Scholarship & Leadership Program embodies the importance of celebrating what "purpose" means for everyone. We all have something unique and valuable to share. When we remain dedicated and persistent, we can achieve success. A key to crossing the finish line is remembering why you started.

​Whether you are still in law school, studying for the Bar exam, or taking a new step in your career, I encourage you to remember what got you here so far. Celebrate all of your achievements along the way. Thank you to Professor Hardrick and the Journey to Esquire Scholarship & Leadership Program for this fantastic experience.

I was paused, harbored here
In green leaves—cut stem but saved
Waiting out the years
Between blooms.

In green leaves—cut stem but saved
The seasons of law
Between blooms
Taught me what it means to be queer.

The seasons of law
Now, demanding more than silence
Taught me what it means to be queer
And gifted me this: Journey to Esquire.

Now, demanding more than silence
I have become unmoored
And gifted this: Journey to Esquire
I am ready to bloom.

As I walk through the dull, grey office, I can pretty much smell the lack of sleep as the keyboards clack, clack, clack away. Black coffee in hand, I stroll over to my desk and slump into my seat, its flimsy plastic creaking under my weight; I look over to see a bright, yellow sticky note sitting on my desk, it reads; “New case, file in the drawer” scribbled in a red biro. I check the drawer, and sure enough, there sits a sad, beige file. I open it up and right away get to work; as I read the tiny print, I jot down some notes on my notepad.
“Now, this is a murder scene like never before,” I introspect. The police and forensic investigators found a bloody sock, an empty wallet, AND the murder weapon; not only that, but it had traces of DNA, just enough to send in for testing, however, that takes a long time, but in the meantime, the police have a suspect. Read more here.

Ten years trapped in an inescapable prison. Ten years of lost time. Wasted. I recently saw a man named Ryan Ferguson on a show called The Amazing Race. The show introduced him as a wrongfully convicted person who was jailed for 10 years and wanted to make up for the lost time by being a part of the Amazing Race. I wanted to look into his story a bit more, which eventually lead to me researching stories of other wrongfully convicted people. All these stories showed how important it is to provide accused persons with procedural rights, how the court system protects our rights, and how important it is for the judicial system to be diverse so it can be trusted. Read more here.

Watch the presentations on YouTube coming soon!

Inaya Smith-Marsette passed the Minnesota Bar Exam, Neena Sterling, Ana Lleonart, Lucero Feliciano, Hala Alkattan, Damian Rape and Jeanneth Miranda all passed the Florida Bar Exam. Journey to Esquire complete!