Kurena Sampson

My name is Kurena Sampson. I was born in Dade County, Miami, Florida. I live with my mother and her two sisters. I was born and raised in a West Indian family. Throughout my life, I have been driven to be the very best at everything I do, so at an early age, I began to set personal goals. My aspiration is to graduate, and attend law school to accomplish my ultimate goal of becoming a Criminal Defense Lawyer or Criminal State Attorney.
As a child, I was very passionate about becoming a Family Court and Criminal Court lawyer and I still am. I would arrange my dolls and pretend I am in court arguing a case. As I grew older, I engaged in programs that will help me learn more about being a lawyer. For instance, in the summer of 8th grade, I attended the Legal Outreach Summer Law Institute at Brooklyn Law School, and in my sophomore year, a program called “Lead America Criminal Justice” that was held at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Both programs taught me features of what it meant to be a criminal justice lawyer, personal profiling forensics and much more. I also sat in on a live case. In my senior year, I attended the William R. Harvey Leadership Institute program where I learned the meaning of being a good leader and how to remain humble at all times.
At Barry University I have become a part of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. In this fraternity, I have expanded my knowledge about becoming a lawyer. I have attended law panels at various of local colleges in the Miami, Florida area, as well as observed mock trials. I am in the process of finalizing my initiation to become a member of National Society of Leaders and Success honor society. Through this process, I have developed more knowledge on what it means and how to become a better leader. This semester, I have been given the opportunity to be treasurer of E.C.L.I.P.S.E Fashion Model Society. Being treasurer has taught me about accepting responsibility such as learning how to be prepared in advance, being a good custodian of the society money, and learning how to adhere to financial control policies. Last fall and spring semesters, I was a Desk Assistant for Housing and Residence life. As a desk assistant, I had the experience of meeting various people with different ethnic backgrounds, as well as developing a better communication, organization and customer service skills.
Having a good educational background is paramount to my goal of becoming a lawyer. I am looking forward to accomplishing my goals because all my life I have made preparations to be successful. Being a part of the programs mentioned previously as well as, honor society, fraternity, and working has given me many different insights, not just about the law, but they have also taught me respect, time management as well as how to prioritize different commitment. All of this exposure has given me a better insight on my future aspiration.