Faylin Montgomery

I attribute my success to perseverance. There are so many things that get thrown at people, and they end up falling, right? But if there is a continuum of time, we can't go backwards in time, we can only go forward. So, as I do as much in my power to keep things moving and going forward, when someone fails to do their part on a group project, or something doesn't go as planned, it's important to know how to adapt quickly and effectively, and persevere so that you're not stuck. No one ever wants to be stuck. At my young age, I'm driven and focused because I have a clear objective. My motivation comes from wanting to make a difference early, because the earlier I can get my message out there, the earlier I can help people, and the more beneficial it will be in the long term.

The best career advice I ever received is that not everyone needs to be a leader in a group capacity. Sometimes you need people that are willing to support and put in their input, but not run the show. Without a team, if everyone is trying to be the sole leader on the team, the team will never work, because there's no I in team. I appreciate knowing the difference between being able to delegate tasks and follow through with them, and being able to have tasks delegated to me and do them, because you're being a leader in your own way by doing what you have to get done. The best advice in terms of career, business, and professionalism is that professionalism revolves around being a good team player and a good team leader. Everyone teaches their kid to be a leader, but do you teach your kid to be a supporter? That's important, because you can't have all number ones.

Some advice that I'd give to someone trying to follow the path that I'm on is to have integrity. Do things correctly. The more that you get into politics or actual business lifestyle, there are so many discrepancies that are shaded, and I want transparency. Everyone deserves transparency. Some people have bad views on lawyers and attorneys in general, especially immigration attorneys. I think having integrity and having that transparency to say what it is and say what it isn't, and help your client as much as they need to, provides a sense of advocacy and safety for the client and the other person, and everyone involved. Holding people accountable holds people accountable to having integrity. It's important to be immersed in your community and understand what you're talking about, because people need to take labels off of things and focus on the conversation.

The biggest challenges that I think I have now is how I look presents people with a different perspective. People use their prejudice subconsciously or consciously to preserve their own ideas before I get to speak to them. People automatically think that my ideas aren't going to be credible, or they're not going to make sense, because they automatically think they don't agree with me because of how I look. If you assume that I'm a Democrat because I'm a Black woman, how does that help you in the long run? People need to take labels off of things and focus on the conversation. It's mind-boggling to me that people think someone is trying to help them, but this person all of a sudden trying to help you is also putting you down, and you can't decipher the two because they helped you. The biggest opportunity is increasing voter registration, because the more people that we don't have voting means that people aren't knowledgeable, and I think if people were knowledgeable, they would care more.

The most important values to me are effort and prioritizing family. Effort is the biggest thing, because without effort, you have nothing. If there's no effort into your project, people aren't going to receive your ideas. If there's no effort into how you look today, people aren't going to take you seriously. If there's no effort into the work you put out, people aren't going to think you're knowledgeable about what you're talking about. Also, prioritizing family is important. People are wrapped up into the idea that blood is thicker than water, but if you're not receiving the love that somebody is giving you through acts of service, if you're not receiving the love someone is giving you through words of affirmation, what is the purpose of family if you're not receiving those things? Helping the families that I've helped and seeing the looks on their faces when they realize they can pay their bills and make sure their child is okay at the same time brings me a sense of joy.