Alma Emprendedora Alma Emprendedora Issue 004 2014 | Page 49

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A DREAM COME TRUE
By Diana Szochet

I’m running for Civil Court Judge in the
6th Judicial District of Brooklyn, New
York. It’s a surprise, really.

isn’t that the way my life has always
been? So I decided to become a
candidate.

A lifelong resident of Brooklyn, I’m the
first-born daughter of immigrants from
Latin America. Despite their lack of
formal education – my father never
finished high school – my parents made
sure that I finished high school and went
to college. But my destiny was to be a
teacher, a nurse, careers my father
believed would leave me more time to be
the wife and mother I would become.
Being a lawyer was not in the cards;
much less running for judge. But I’ve a
lawyer now for almost 30 years, with a
wonderful husband, and two wonderful
children. Public service has given me the
opportunity to effectively balance my
work and life demands. Also, I’ve been
able to use my bilingual upbringing, and
my bilingual education, to help the
disadvantaged, first as a disability
advocate, then as a consumer
protection advocate.

As the child of Latino immigrants,
becoming a Judge is, for me, the
incarnation of the American Dream.
However, running for judicial office also
has been some of the hardest work I
ever have done in my life. Conducting a
campaign, while working a full-time job in
the Court system, and meeting the
needs of my family, is a fascinating
study in case management. The

And now I’m running for Judge. No
one said it was going to be easy.
Although people told me they were
confide