Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan.
Ryan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story starts in the colloquial “Corporate America” right out of my undergrad. I attempted the Corporate America route twice. Both experiences were good, not great. I quickly realized that the expectations of my days were to do my tasks and wait for the next task to get assigned. Or, as my senior peers figured out: strategically divvy up your workload throughout the day to make yourself appear overburdened in an effort to avoid more tasks. I am not a great actor, and I definitely despise sitting around and waiting.
My story continues with mentors: particularly people who were living a life I wanted to live: healthy work-life balance, hard work, high reward, and, ultimately, efficiency. The CPA who taught me about money and how it can be used strategically. He also taught me–a born and raised SoCal surfer–to hunt and fly-fish, and gave me my first bird-dog. Because I knew about fly-fishing, hunting, and bird dogs, I was introduced to the C-level executive who taught me about the inefficiencies in big business, and some theoretical solutions. We would walk our dogs for hours and discuss how to improve business efficiencies. These conversations prepared me for when I met the academian turned restaurateur who was also a city council member. The same city council member who helped me secure my first business contract. Each mentor, connected to the next. Each preparing me for something better.
After 12 years of business ownership in the form of start-ups, contracts, consulting, and advising, I decided it was time to make change.
Today, I am in my final year of law school at Purdue Global Law School. I am the Student Bar Association President, and I continue to be excited about life while maintaining the goals I set for myself 15 years ago.
My story–while seemingly sporadic–is an adventure that falls nothing short of poise, determination, and following my dreams.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has not been smooth. I have been on the road less-travelled, which gave me the chance to experience (what seems like) every bump, divot, and obstacle possible. In all I have done, from entrepreneurship to being a non-traditional law student, a level of determination has been required to stay the course.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a full-time law student at Purdue Global Law School where I serve as the President of the Student Bar Association (SBA). My responsibilities include liaising between the Dean’s Office, faculty, and students, planning and hosting online and in-person events around the country, encouraging student engagement through peer mentoring and other activities, and managing communications through streamlined processes. I work side-by-side with my fellow board members to ensure the law school student body is engaging, active, and progressive. Being the SBA President of a student body that is online presents challenges: engagement can be difficult when students are remote and only online. My goal is to make communication as easy and engaging as possible to increase interaction amongst the students. By facilitating engagement and interaction, the learning environment becomes more tangible, which leads to more accountability, more comradery, and better publicity overall.
What sets me apart as the Student Bar Association President is that I am in the elected role to make the student body and the law school better and more recognizable. Oftentimes, the Student Bar Association President of a law school is using the role as a platform for their future career; I am using the platform to tackle obstacles and make Purdue Global Law School a better place to learn. I have a passion and a desire to make quality legal education accessible to working professionals who cannot attend law school through the traditional route. I believe that an online law school can offer a better education, and simultaneously offer the in-person experience of students supporting one another, socializing, and creating a different, yet equal, version of the in-person experience.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Once I left Corporate America, it was all about risks. There has yet to be a decision that was risk-free. How I have overcome risks is by being poised, keeping self-discipline, and maintaining a back-up plan for the back-up plan.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/purdueglobal.edu/pglsba/sba-home
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanbernal/
- Other: https://pglssba.cheddarup.com
