Felicia K. Romain

I attribute my success to my family, starting with my grandmother who came to America from Trinidad in the 60s or 70s. She never relied on government assistance and worked all the way up. She's a nurse, my mom's a nurse practitioner, and my family has a lot of doctors in it. It's just the idea of my grandmother teaching me that no one's gonna feel sorry for you, so work harder. That quote, work harder, and don't think that a handout will be given. My mom has that mentality, and then I have that. Just watching the women in my family not make excuses and just continue pushing forward, that's really what I contribute to what I am today.

The best career advice I've received came from my mom, who is the director of the New York City Department of Education Nurses D75 program. Even though she's not in the legal field, whenever I have an issue, she tells me from a management director position what would make me stand out in general. She taught me about always asking questions, being open to learn, not having the wrong attitude, and being responsive in general. She explained that if her supervisors who are under her aren't responding in a good, fast time, that's a problem. That really helped me throughout my career, just her advice as a director about what she looks for and what bosses look for.

I would say be open, be curious, and ask questions. You may think you want to do criminal law, and then you realize you like technology, or you realize you like certain things. I'm not saying to say yes to everything, but try to be open. If someone asks, or your supervisor says there's an after-work event, just go. Just keep yourself open for opportunities and don't close yourself off when you're starting out, because then you get to see what you really like. You may say, oh, I want to do this, but then you may say, oh, I like this better. So I would just say be more open.

I think having integrity is most important, first and foremost. And then also accountability as well. If you missed a mark somewhere, whether in work or personal life, it's okay to say I'm sorry, I was wrong, and next time I'm gonna do that better. Oftentimes, I see a lot of people let their title get to their heads and they think they're above reproach. But I want feedback, whether it's negative or positive. I want to hear it all so that I can better myself, and that's in any facet of my life. Just being open and not thinking you're above reproach, that's really important to me.