Empowering Women in Law Scholarship Application

Previous Winners

2025 Winning Essay – Alicia Phan (University of Richmond)

As I sat in the back of my mom’s nail salon drawing a picture of a flower, I watched my mom smile after one of her customers asked, “How was chemo this week?” My mom tried to visit her nail salon as often as she could, not just to ensure business was running smoothly, but to talk with the employees and customers who had become her friends and family. Whenever they saw a four-foot-eleven, bald woman wearing an animal print dress, blue eyeshadow, and red lipstick walk up to the glass door of the salon, they would stop everything to greet her with a warm embrace. There was always the brightest smile on my mom’s face that would spread to each person in the room when she was surrounded by the community she created. Everyone’s smiles would later turn to tears as they waited in a long line to embrace me at my mom’s funeral.

On my mom’s forty-eighth birthday, the hospital gave her flowers and news we never thought we would hear: she was diagnosed with Stage 3C Ovarian Cancer and had a thirty percent chance of surviving. Through all the hardships and pain, she miraculously stayed positive. My mother was a fighter. I believed that she could prove the odds wrong. I was wrong. Five years after her diagnosis and exactly eleven days before my thirteenth birthday, my dad woke me up at eight o’clock in the morning and said, “It’s time. Mommy’s going.”

I had the honor to watch my mom, an immigrant woman from Vietnam, work to build her nail salon from essentially nothing. People loved going to her salon because it felt like home. She knew the names of each customer and their family members. Whenever employees brought their children to work, my mom and I would play house with them. Every week, she also brought homemade Vietnamese food to share her culture with customers. My mom even opened up our home to refugees from Vietnam, taught them how to do nails, and helped them get settled. At the end of a long day painting nails and scrubbing people’s feet, she would count the day’s profits and sweep the dust alone in the dark. To me, she is what a business owner should be.

My mom inspired me to study business in college and pursue my dream in business law. To me, law is more than what is written in the book. Business law is not only to ensure compliance with regulations, but also to take care of the community that surrounds the organization. In my Ethics and Business Leadership class, we read an article about Amazon’s inhumane working conditions. A former employee of Amazon detailed how she was discouraged from taking bathroom breaks even while she was pregnant. The harmful actions of major corporations shock me because they are the antithesis of my mom’s compassionate leadership style. Whenever I read about how businesses exploit those who rely on them, I wonder “Who let this happen?” As a business lawyer, I would work to combat these instances from happening and advocate for employees, the community, and the planet. My education in business coupled with the knowledge I am learning in law school will be the foundation for how I tackle the problems that plague corporations today. The first-hand experience I had watching my mom lead with love exemplifies how a business should function in society. Through business law, I aspire to help organizations foster a happy and healthy community by working in the stakeholder’s best interest.

When my mom died, I felt like half of me died with her. However, I am my mother’s daughter. Not only do I have her face, especially her smile, but I also have her positivity, empathy, and work ethic. Whenever I am faced with a problem, I always think about what my mom would say, do, or think. Maybe if all corporations prioritized their connection with the community like my mom did, the business world would look a little bit different. Unfortunately, not everyone had the opportunity to work with my mom. I am determined to keep her memory and legacy alive by not only striving to be my best self every day, but also working to help others be their best selves. The unconditional love my mom exhibited will be manifested through my work to create a just community for all to work and live in.

My mom is my greatest inspiration, but I do not have a lawyer role model to help me navigate this career path. Growing up, I didn’t know a single female, Asian attorney in the media nor in my community. Despite the fact that women make up more than half of law school students and graduates, I have only met one female, Asian attorney during my time in law school. Representation matters. It is important that women see themselves reflected in the legal field and have mentors to guide them through the unique challenges of working in a historically male-dominated profession. Women bring essential qualities to the legal profession, such as emotional intelligence, empathy, and strong communication skills. These qualities are just as critical to being a good attorney as technical expertise. When I am an attorney, I hope to lead by example like my mom did and foster a community where women feel seen, heard, and represented.