Lessons Learned: TLU Alumni Spotlight on JaKayla DaBera ’18

JaKayla DaBera's mother was right-as mothers usually are. It was 2014, and DaBera and her parents had come to TLU for a campus visit. "My mother turned to me and said, 'You're going to take over this campus,'" she remembers. At the time, DaBera didn't take the remark as a compliment. "As an eighteen-year-old, full of angst and attitude, I was immediately offended," she recalls. "Was she trying to say that I'm a control freak? I immediately blurted out in a tone, 'What's that supposed to mean?' My mom just looked at me and said, 'JaKayla, you're you. This is a small campus. You're going to be involved in everything.'"

DaBera gave a huff and said, "Whatever," and left it at that. But ah, the wisdom of her mother. "Over my four years at TLU, I was involved in everything," she admits-as in, the Black Student Union, the honors program, Student Government Association, Alpha Lambda Delta, Alpha Chi, the Mexican American Student Association . . . She was a resident assistant and a member of the prestigious Black and Gold President's Council. She did a semester in Washington, taking on an internship for Congressman Lloyd Doggett. So yep, her mother was right. "That level of involvement taught me so many lessons. Lessons that carried me through law school and that still carry me to this day."

After earning her bachelor's degree in political science and sociology in 2018, DaBera went on to attend law school at Emory University School of Law, earning her JD in 2021. She is now an associate attorney at Kane Russell Coleman Logan in Dallas, focusing her practice on bankruptcy litigation.

"Law school wasn't easy," she says. "As a first-gen student, there was so much I didn't know or didn't think to anticipate. The lessons I learned at TLU helped me through those law school uncertainties as they formed a rock-solid foundation."

Her most valuable lessons from her undergrad years? She learned the importance of community and surrounding oneself with strong, supportive friends. "I'm still friends with some of the people I connected with at TLU," she says. "Those are some of my strongest relationships. Knowing how to make friends and the right friends to make was crucial to my survival in law school." DaBera says her first semester at Emory was a bit shaky, but with the help of four friends, she got through it. "Four amazing women pulled me out of my bed and pushed me through a final studies bootcamp," she remembers. "When I needed support in any way, those ladies showed up for me."

The second lesson of her undergrad years was how to cultivate resilience. "I come from a pretty tough background," she says. "Prior to attending TLU, I understood what resilience in the face of personal struggle meant, but not really when it came to education. At TLU, I learned that it was important to advocate for yourself in the classroom and to challenge your way of thinking."

She also learned how to embrace being underestimated and how to conquer fears. "TLU created the perfect environment for me to learn and grow," she says. "I had to step out of my comfort zone many times." Her willingness to walk into the uncomfortable and unknown, rather than avoid it, fostered the courage she would need to go to law school eight hundred miles from home-and to stick with it. "I didn't give up when things got difficult. I remembered my grit, my support system, and saw my journey through to the end."

And finally, she learned how to manage her time and balance competing obligations. "TLU gives you the unique opportunity to be over-involved," she says. Sounds like a bad thing, right? But DaBera saw it as a gift. "This forces you to prioritize, take control of your schedule, and create opportunities for self-care." She had to be able to balance her many obligations if she was going to keep up in law school, and in life.

Law school, as it turned out, was a great testing ground for the lessons she'd learned at TLU. And the lessons held true, if her performance there is any indication. A few of her accomplishments: She was a 2019 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Scholar and secured a spot as a Larry D. Thompson Fellow. She interned for PepsiCo. She was recognized as a top 10 percent oral advocate and in the Order of Emory Advocates for Outstanding Achievement in or Contribution to Excellence in Advocacy Activities. She was on the dean's list in the spring of 2021, and that same year, participated in the National Student Trial Advocacy Competition.

Now, as an attorney, DaBera says she's still relying on those TLU lessons, especially when the days are long. She'll even have moments, as most attorneys do, when she questions whether this is what she'll do for the rest of her career.

"Don't let that scare you," she advises up-and-coming attorneys. "Being a lawyer, a servant-leader, is truly a rewarding privilege. Just don't forget to rely on your own lessons or principles formed at TLU."