Justice For All

Transcript

Next let’s go talk to Brian, who is an active duty military officer studying law. The military holds a special place on FIUs campus. The office of Veteran and Military Affairs is headquartered in the oldest and most cherished building on campus. A former airport tower where the university got its start, when it was founded on an abandoned airfield. Nearby is the Felsberg Veterans Plaza which pays tribute to FIU veterans. It is named after FIU alumnus Paul Michael Felsberg, who died in 2004 while serving with the US Marine Corps in Iraq. Brian, you’re on.

Thanks Alex, hi everyone, my name’s Brian Hernandez and I’m a third year evening law student here at FIU college of law and I’m also an active duty military officer. After serving over 20 years in the army I decided to finally pursue my lifetime goal of going to law school. I knew it’d be challenging being an evening student while balancing being a soldier, a father and a husband. Over the past three years I’ve had the opportunity to meet a great group of fellow law students, with similar situations like mine all juggling a thousand things just so they can pursue their dream of being a lawyer. And thanks to the great support here at FIU law, and each other, we can make those dreams a reality. Now lemme tell you a couple of great things about FIU law. First it South Florida’s only public law school and it’s in the top 50 public law schools in the entire country. This is because of its outstanding faculty, its rigorous academic program and its dedication to make sure that students are prepared to pass the bar exam and graduation. One way that FIU prepares its students to become lawyers is through its various experienced learning programs such as our immigration clinic and our community law clinic. These clinics provide students the opportunity to get hands on experience working with attorneys with real clients on real world legal issues. Additionally, the school has a community law clinic which provides general legal assistance and teaches students how to be able to advocate on behalf of clients in areas that have limited means to be able to get the right legal assistance. But one reason why I’m proud to be part of FIU is how supportive the university, the faculty, and the students are for those of us in uniform, our veterans coming out of uniform, and students plan to join our military. FIU has a robust reserve officer training program, which prepares students for service in the armed forces and also following graduation. And for our veterans, FIU is absolutely the right place. The school has an incredible veterans and military affairs office, which helps veterans transition from military life to life as a college student. Throughout my military career I’ve had the honor to lead thousands of men and women in both peacetime and combat. And there is no better feeling than being part of a great team. That’s what you feel here at FIU, back to you Alex.

Great work being done at the immigration and community lawyering clinics Brian, thank you for sharing your experience and thank you for your service, take care.