“Become friends with people who aren’t your age. Hang out with people whose first language isn’t the same as yours. Get to know someone who doesn’t come from your social class. This is how you see the world. This is how you grow.” ~ Author Unknown

I grew up in the Midwest with a pretty typical Midwest upbringing with many people who looked and sounded, for the most part, just like me. I decided pretty early on that simply was not enough for me to personally flourish. I luckily, and likely at that point more out of rebellion, decided to venture out of my comfort zone early, which in a bit of a winding road got me to where I am today. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made was studying abroad and participating in Semester at Sea (a multi-country study abroad program); it made the person I am today and I am forever grateful for that opportunity. That opportunity taught me about the importance of diversity and whenever I see the above quote, I am reminded of why this is so important and how this transitions into the practice of law.

There aren’t many things in life that can have a dramatic way of changing the way we view the world, but interacting with people who are different from us—whether that be in age, race, sexual orientation, or social class—is one of the guaranteed ways to likely make you a more well-rounded, better person. And at the end of the day, probably a better lawyer. Implicit bias is pretty undeniable but we can work to makes strides against this by having a diverse workplace, which may enlighten us to our own implicit bias, and therefore (hopefully) allowing us to limit that implicit bias when it comes to our decision making and judgment.

Our clients seek our services for a variety of reasons, but most of those reasons involve coming up with unique solutions to their problems. Working with people who come from different backgrounds allows you to learn about and embrace ideas that were not within your comfort zone.  It helps you better understand where your opponent is coming from instead of just sitting on your side of the line refusing to budge. All of this allows for offering more solutions, and often better, to our clients. And for this reason, we have to continue to promote diversity within our profession and our workplace; we are here to serve the public and we should do that with the utmost ability.

The Florida Bar YLD also recognizes the importance of diversity in our profession and each year we present the Diversity Award to a person and/or entity that demonstrates the highest morality and respect for all persons and diversity, for efforts and allegiance to creating diversity and promoting a more diverse workplace. Nominations for the Diversity Award are due May 13, 2016 and more information can be found here.

Being the only female attorney in my small firm in Key West, I know that I bring a different perspective to my colleagues and allows us as a firm to better serve our clients. I encourage everyone to step outside your comfort zone and embrace diversity, give yourself the chance to grow and view the world differently.

 Ashley N. Sybesma is a senior associate at the law firm Smith Oropeza Hawks and is an appointed member of The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division for the 16^th Judicial Circuit. Ashley is proud to call the Southernmost City of Key West, Florida home.