I have made my path by walking it, having decided to take the less-traveled road in law - the academy. I did not have any women professors in law school, and I was the second woman to join the teaching staff at my university. I went on to become the first woman professor of law and dean. Being a woman of many firsts has come with many challenges. In many spaces, it has been like swimming against a tide. Despite the resistance, I have immensely enjoyed becoming a woman in and of the law. The pressure has brought out the diamond. The icing on the cake has been the many children in and of the law that I have birthed. Biologically a mother of two, teaching law is the space where I have propagated my progeny to thousands. Over 30 years and counting, there is nothing that I would love to do more than to teach and mentor the next generation of legal scholars.

Keep your eye on the ball, run your race on your terms without looking over your shoulder at the speed of those running their race beside you. As a woman in a sack race, you will have many things like children, spouse, aging parents, which make running difficult. Keep running even if the pace is slow. When you get to the finish line, your reward will be worth the while.