My involvement with FBANC began in 2019. I met FBANC advisory Board Member Ted  Borromeo at a CLE event that I hosted as Business Development staff during my time at Paul Hastings LLP. Ted told me about FBANC over a follow up lunch. With no lawyers in  the family, the initial thought of a community of Filipino lawyers made more drawn to  pursue what I knew would be a challenging career path. Learning about FBANC gave me  immediate affirmation that I could be a lawyer too.  

After meeting with Ted, past president Laurie Lubiano introduced me to the FBANC  community. As a pre-law student, I was nervous and felt like an imposter surrounding  myself with lawyers when I was not even close to being one. However, at my first FBANC picnic, I found a family that welcomed me with open arms (Thank you, Antonio!). Since  then, this family has grown ever since for me, and despite all my travels and moves across  the state, the lawyers of FBANC have always been and continue to be a constant source  of assurance that I can be a lawyer too.  

Being a Mentorship Director affords me the opportunity to pay forward the gifts and  opportunities FBANC mentors have bestowed upon me. Every phone call, informational  interview, and email introduction to new network connections had an impact on me. I can  trace every job, internship, and referral I’ve had to an FBANC mentor. I am the lawyer I  am today and practice privacy because of FBANC mentors. While nervously waiting for  Bar results, I golfed with FBANC friends (not well) who spent the day reinforcing their  belief in me. Even once I passed the Bar, FBANC members reached out to me throughout  my most recent job search to offer job referrals and make introductions on my behalf.  

I aspire to be instrumental and integral in furthering FBANC’s initiatives and deepening FBANC relationships across generations through mentorship. My Mentorship Director  goals include: 

(1) Developing curated programming for law students and lawyers of all experience  levels by understanding mentorship needs;  
(2) Fostering connection through greater mentorship pod-like structures;  (3) And serving as a resource for FBANC’s growing needs beyond what’s expected of  me in my role.  

Ever since I was that prospective student at that first FBANC picnic, I have always felt  equipped knowing that FBANC members whole-heartedly made themselves available to  me and unhesitatingly opened doors for me. I am thankful for this opportunity to submit  my candidacy to be on the Board because FBANC is where I learned what it means to be  a Filipino lawyer and mentor in service of others. I would be proud to be on the 46h Board  of an organization that, through the years, continues to embody this spirit of kabayan.