Diversity Scholar Spotlight - Q&A with Eduardo Mendoza
Eduardo Mendoza moved from Laredo, Texas, to the nation’s seventh largest city, San Antonio, to attend St. Mary’s University School of Law. He says the move exposed him to a diverse set of views and played a crucial role in his personal and professional development.
A recent graduate of St. Mary’s, Eduardo will be clerking for a federal magistrate judge in Dallas and a federal district judge in Laredo. In law school, he served as the Research and Articles Editor on the St. Mary’s Law Journal Editorial Board and as Vice President and Treasurer of the Carlos Cadena Legal Dining Society, a student organization committed to bridging the gap between law students and the legal community in San Antonio.
PracticePro
Where will you be working after graduation? What type of law will you be practicing?
Eduardo
After law school, I am clerking for a federal magistrate judge in Dallas, Texas. After that, I am clerking for a federal district judge in my hometown of Laredo, Texas. I want to join a law firm after my clerkships and am interested in commercial and labor and employment litigation.
PracticePro
Where do you to see yourself professionally in 5 or 10 years from now?
Eduardo
Five years from now, I see myself as a litigation associate at a law firm. Ten years from now, I see myself as a litigation partner at a law firm.
PracticePro
What do you do for fun? Tell us one fun or interesting non-law related thing about yourself.
Eduardo
I love to workout. Weight lifting and running really eases law school stress. I wake up at 5:00 am every morning to get a workout in.
PracticePro
Tell us about a struggle or challenge you faced growing up, how you overcame it, and how it shaped who you are today.
Eduardo
I grew up with a stuttering disability and attended speech therapy in high school. I learned to control it. When I earned the Best Speaker award at a mock trial competition in law school, I knew the stutter would not hold me back as a lawyer.
PracticePro
Tell us a quote or saying by which you live your life or the best life advice you ever received.
Eduardo
Work hard!
PracticePro
What is the one accomplishment you are most proud of?
Eduardo
I am most proud of earning my law degree. I will be the first lawyer in my family, and the first to hold a doctoral degree. I am excited about the future.
PracticePro
What is one thing you wish you had known before law school? Do you have any advice or book recommendations to incoming 1Ls to help them succeed or better handle the rigors of law school?
Eduardo
“Getting to Maybe” is a great book on how to take a law school exam. I read it the summer before law school and again around finals time. Make time to do things you love. For me, that was working out. Stay in touch with non-law school friends.
PracticePro
What was your favorite law school experience -- one you would suggest other students look into?
Eduardo
Law journal and competing in mock trial competitions.