Tough Woman Who Got Several Rejections from Law Schools, Finally Graduates From Law School 20 Years Later

There’s no right way to live a fulfilling life! A 41-year-old, Amber Goodwin has shared her law school graduation photo with an empowering message for women.

The Quadragenarian, Amber graduated from college in her twenties with hopes of attending law school immediately.

She however faced tons of rejections from several law schools. An event that forced her to pursue a master’s degree in another field.

She founded the Community Justice Action Fund (CJAF) while building a career for herself on Capitol Hill.

Almost two decades after her several rejections, she, however, decided to try law school again, and this time she was accepted.

Now, At 41, she graduated from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, a midwestern U.S. state.

Disclosing how she reached this level she said: “My mentality was: I’m going to keep applying places, and they have to tell me no. I’m not going to call the question on myself. If people tell me no, then that’s on them, and I’ll just keep trying.”

“Sorry, not sorry in advance for all the law graduation photos y’all are about to get. I’m 41, never been married, have no kids, and most days, society refuses to celebrate people like me. It’s been a very rough year, but this is a bright spot for many of us. It was all worth it,” she wrote on her twitter handle.

The tweet received an onslaught of support from other women as many shared their own stories with her as well.

One goes thus: “This was me when I got my J.D. at 39. I used the $$ I got for graduation and bought my china and stemware. I figured I might never have a wedding and get those gifts, and if I wanted it, I should have it. Serve myself dinner on it frequently,” another user commented.

“As a 40+ single, never-married woman, I’ve learned to flip the narrative about women like us. YOU are the apex of womanhood. Fully liberated w/choices and life that our female ancestors couldn’t even fathom. You represent the fullest potential of womankind. Congratulations,” another commented.

Goodwin reacted to their comments and retweets saying she was both touched and overwhelmed by the response.

She said: “I didn’t expect that anyone outside of my family and friends would actually like it or tweet it. I consider myself brave for going back to law school at 38 and not really going back with a plan of what I would do once I got out of law school. A lot of times, people, especially women and Black women, are not celebrated while we’re doing things. We’re celebrated maybe when we’ve made it and are winning big cases as an attorney or doing other things like getting married or having kids,” said Goodwin.

She added that:

“…A lot of times, things like [graduating law school] aren’t just seen as a win for someone who is 41 years old. This gave me a sense that people were standing right next to me as I was getting really great news and times when I was maybe not feeling sure of myself,” she said.

Goodwin who is neither married nor have kids, says that while she still desires to be married and have children, she’s not waiting for those moments to pat herself on the back. She hopes she inspires other women to live their lives in a way that pleases them while celebrating themselves along the way.

“I want everything, but just because I’m 41 and haven’t accomplished some of those things doesn’t mean that my life is a failure. I think everyone’s life should be validated and celebrated. I hope that people take away that there’s no one way to live the life you have, and life should be lived and celebrated literally every single day,” said Goodwin.

Her story is inspiring as it shows how one can still retry in the face of rejection.