A Would-Be Lawyer’s Disney land, USA

Walt Disney was an outspoken dreamer and respected inspirationalist who fought for (what I like to call) “inner child freedom.” Disney believed that “if you dream it, you can do it” and “the more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else which makes you unique.” I admire Disney because he took a follower’s, rather than a leader-centric, point of view of leadership by describing a leader as one who leads by serving.  This is reflected in Disney’s endearing and endless plight to serve others by returning people to their youthful smiles and child-like glows.  Disney gave people an oasis for their return to Neverland.

To that end, in the last decade, I’ve begun to look at Walt Disney and even Disneyland as the mecca land for courageous individuals who, like Disney, want to do the difficult and dream again.  Disney also inspired me in a much more personal way.  He provided me with the courage to do the “difficult” and get a law degree. The word “difficult” is used to describe my situation because: 1) I am the first female in my Russian family to graduate from college, and 2) I am the second person in a long line of Russian descendants to pursue higher education. Both of my grandparents were concentration-camp survivors, and both of my parents were raised in poverty and without an education.

Myself, I was born in a trailer park and raised on food stamps. But, I don’t frown at my own diversity. I revel in it. I am the product of two extremely hard-working and hungry Russian parents, and that hunger is reflected in my own educational journey and the pursuits I seek now. I graduated from college at the age of 32 …and thereafter, I made the leap to enroll into law school at the age of 33 – all of this while working two jobs and raising a family on only my income.

At some point between the two schools, I took my first memorable trip to Disney World, my first real vacation and the only time in ten years that I truly took a vacation.  Ever since that trip, I’ve been desperately trying to find a way back to that wonderful castle of joy. The year of my big trip, I remember not only getting my first college degree but also adopting a new way of life through the vision of Walt Disney. Disney’s alma mater (“servant leadership”) became my personal calling. With that, I entered into law school later that year believing that I was called in servant leadership toward helping my city as an attorney. When I came back from Disney World, I began to see a strong need in Nashville for affordable attorneys, individuals willing to forgo status in order to serve the poor/disadvantaged.

My personal calling after Disney then became that I wanted to assist low-income parents in family law. Often times, parental disputes become more about the quarrel and less about the children. Fathers are kept from children by embittered mothers and mothers are kept from financial support. In the mix are children, who never really know either parent. Thus begins the vicious cycle of broken families, lives, hearts and people. My hope, upon graduation from law school, is to develop a specialty in family law. My goal is to develop a practice with a specialty in custody dispute resolution geared toward low-income families. To that end, my calling in life is to grow as a person and to become a leader by serving my community. How do I plan to preserve the civil justice system?

By leading and serving from the bottom up. Why? Because servant leadership is the greatest and most effective form of long-lasting leadership – it’s the Disney way. And, it entails commitment to the growth of people, stewardship, and building community, all under the umbrella of diversity.  These are all principles that Walt Disney, and I, believe in.

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