Obtaining a law degree in Canada is a tremendous privilege. To be successful in this process requires resilience from all of the people fortunate enough to receive an opportunity regardless of their potential strengths and advantages. One of the many significant hindrances in this journey is the application process. Navigating this process in the absence of guidance is nothing short of an uphill battle. These barriers place black law students at a substantial disadvantage; therefore, the occupancy of black students in legal institutions across Canada is sizeably lower than expected. Unfortunately, these statistics are not a product of the minority black population in Canada but rather an indication of how the barriers to obtaining a law degree in Canada impact the current landscape.

As a black student who has engaged with this process and has found success with multiple law schools, I cannot state enough how instrumental the opportunity JD Bridges has granted me has shaped my career. My location compounded the majority of my difficulties as a black student as a student from Newfoundland. In my province, there are no law schools, nor is there a black presence in the legal community. Thus, I was unable to find inspiration or potential guidance throughout my journey within my province. Fortunately, JD Bridges came to fruition at the perfect time, and I was able to avail of their guidance as one of their inaugural beneficiaries. In essence, JD Bridges was able to remove many of the barriers, including networking, LSAT preparation, and application costs. These factors impact many black students across Canada as they do not know where to start, who to reach or how to access the necessary tools. As a result, what once appeared as an improbable outcome soon became a realistic chance at acceptance with JD Bridges.

The services offered by JD Bridges instilled hope and confidence in my journey, but more importantly, they offered me invaluable mentorship every step of the way. I consider myself to be an incredibly fortunate person to receive this bursary because there are many students who are worthy to become future lawyers but do not get opportunities such as these. I am of the opinion that the progression of the legal community in Canada for black Canadians is predicated upon the ability of black law students such as myself to get an opportunity. For many black applicants JD Bridges will be that opportunity. As long as this organization continues to expand and uplift students in my position, I am certain that the black legal community will see many success stories from the JD Bridges.