"There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed.” I have found that every time I have dedicated myself to the service of others, my life has been enriched. I was born in Tacoma, Washington and moved to Monroe as a child. I grew up in that small town setting, helping elderly neighbors move or painting their fences. Though they were small favors, helping people gave me a deep sense of fulfillment.

 

One of my most memorable, and most simple, acts of service happened on a bus when I was 16 years old. A friend of mine from California asked me to accompany him on a bus ride down to Los Angeles. I have always had sense of adventure, so I agreed. It was a 26 hour bus ride, one way, from Everett to Los Angeles. The bus seats were cramped and uncomfortable, but that didn’t take away from the excitement of the trip.

 

Eventually, we made it all the way to Los Angeles. We were only a few stops away from our destination when I noticed a panicked Latina woman who was trying to communicate to the bus driver. I could tell she didn’t speak English and the bus driver didn’t speak Spanish. I had studied Spanish in high school and honed that practicing with my co-workers at McDonald’s. I knew enough to understand that the woman was lost and was not sure what stop she needed to get off at in order to meet her family. I was able to step in and help the two communicate to each other. The driver came up with a good location to drop the woman off and I got to see her reunite with her family. The relief I saw wash over her and the joy of her family at finding her filled me with an intense sense of satisfaction and joy. Of all the adventures we had as 16 year olds in California, helping that woman was the most meaningful and lasting of them all.

 

That experience, among others, guided me to my goal of becoming an attorney and legal advocate. I saw the need for advocacy and I thought that that type of service would be an honorable thing to which to devote my career. I spent two years after high school as a traveling minister and missionary in East Los Angeles. Later, I graduated from BYU-Idaho with a degree in technical writing. I was then accepted to Seattle University School of Law, where I graduated in 2015.

 

I had the pleasure of working in the legal field during law school. I worked as an intern with the Navy JAG, I practiced criminal defense, immigration, family law, and personal injury. Once I graduated, I opened my own practice, adding estate planning and prosperity law to the list of areas I practice. I also enlisted in the Army National Guard.

 

Since opening my firm, I have represented hundreds of clients. I have argued to a jury and to judges. My broad legal experience helps me to address the spectrum of needs my clients have. Even if I am writing a will or planning an estate, legal questions often arise from any or all of the areas of Law I have learned. And to me, that means I have more opportunities to help my clients, which is really why I got into this in the first place.