I am a Puerto Rican, U.S. attorney, and food blogger. I would describe myself as fun, funny, intelligent, and a “Jack of all trades, master of none” (a one-woman band). I decided to take the position of the Editor-In-Chief of the Maurer Global Forum because I love to write and read other people’s writing.
When starting law school at the University of Puerto Rico in 2013, I never imagined using my website building and food blogging skills for my professional career. I was told that I should focus on law and my career as an attorney and only that. It is a highly toxic recommendation to assume attorneys are not humans and that we deserve free time to do other things. Also, some companies in the industry don’t see how a food blog can bring skills to an attorney. Moreover, they may see social media as something frivolous for young people to waste their time because they don’t want to work anymore. On the other hand, businesses with healthy work environments value people like me, an attorney running a food blog. Why? People with “random” skill sets bring a thought process often outside the box, new and refreshing. You are the asset to the company that attracts young entrepreneurs, small businesses, and pleasant surprises.
I balanced my time among my J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees. Thanks to my hobby, I had the opportunity to intern at the World Intellectual Property Organization, also known as WIPO. The organization is part of the United Nations, and they give international recognition to intellectual property, help countries achieve uniformity, and solves issues from developing communities. My supervisor, Attorney Jess Honculada, is the one who trusts me to liaise on projects that can range from mobile apps, websites, legal research, and surveys about industrial designs, trademarks, and geographical indications. For instance, we are recently helping countries with their agricultural industries and improving several industrial design laws. One month into the internship, I completed a two hundred-page dissertation on how to implement a G.I. policy in Puerto Rico and defended it in front of Indiana University Maurer School of Law Professors Hedges, Janis, and Ochoa.
However, I have not always been this lucky. Some jobs and interviews before WIPO did not understand my mix of talents and the value it could bring, nor did they understand how I could have so much experience at the young age of 30. They thought I was that “weird girl with a food blog.”
They were right. I am the weird girl with a food blog with five years of intellectual property experience, five years of business administration experience, and ten years of social media, website development, and teaching experience. I spent summers doing internships, doing odd jobs during semesters, joining university groups, and generating content for my blog simultaneously. (Note: I am very good at time management, so there’s that.)
I hope the Maurer Global Forum can become a platform where people can be authentic and fearless with their opinions. Furthermore, I expect people to use the forum as a space to grow professionally and academically and leave some room for some good trouble.
The moral of the story is that if you have a “random” skill set, there is value in the number of unexpected ways you can use this skill in your academic and professional life. You will find open-minded people and organizations that will take time to understand, value, and maximize your talents. As explained by the WIPO director general, you have to have something that’s your thing, and you can use it as an escape but also a secret weapon of sorts for your 9 to 5.
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