Law and Advocacy at Bentley College, Boston

Angela Geracci (2nd from right) with fellow participants in Boston

Angela Geracci
South Grand Prairie High School
Grand Prairie, Texas

Summer: A time for new adventures, new places, faces, and challenges. The summer of my junior year turned out to be an enlightening and unforgettable experience. I attended a Law and Advocacy Conference at Bentley College in Boston with LeadAmerica.

The first day was quite overwhelming, I felt like I was being thrown into my first day of law school! As time went on I learned to focus on one thing at a time and not to stress the anticipation of the end result. Everyone knows that friends make everything better and that was no exception in my case. I met a lot of amazing people that I plan to stay in touch with. Ironically, my roommate only lives about a half hour away from me! We really clicked and had so much in common. I soon found that the lecturers and different speakers became more of an interest to me; they had so much knowledge to share.

Our day started at 8:30 a.m. and ended around 9 or 10 p.m. The day consisted of lectures and discussions with our team leaders. We also toured the city of Boston, seeing its historic sights and the beautiful atmosphere of Boston. At the end of the day we would break out into groups and have discussions over the lectures and also prepared for the mock trial we would have at the end of the ten-day conference. The funny thing was, I did not even realize how much I was learning until the mock trial. In the mock trial each person played an attorney and a witness. We all had to write directs and crosses, and some people chose to write an opening or closing. I knew that I would be nervous writing an opening and starting a case, but I was there for the full experience. I ended up winning the award of "Best Attorney" in my group!

LeadAmerica was very focused on us as individuals becoming leaders. I actually learned a lot about myself, and I believe I have grown as a person because of this program. Although, I now realize I do not wish to pursue being a lawyer, because I feel that being a lawyer isn't what I am meant to do. I learned that the career I choose has to involve being with people and meeting new people, because I find talking and learning with others a rewarding opportunity. LeadAmerica has been very helpful in the sense that I now know that when you first start something new it is going to be challenging, and maybe even stressful; but if you take it one day at a time you will gradually learn more and accomplish what you set out to do.