Fara Gold:
Idealist In, Idealist Out

Fara Gold arrived in Miami well-prepared to deal with the stresses of law school. During her last two years of college she worked for the Dekalb Rape Crisis Center in Decatur, Georgia, where she counseled victims on the Center's crisis hotline. During undergrad, she also worked the thankless job of resident hall advisor. Contrary to popular perception, her job in the dormitory encompassed much more than breaking up parties. As a R.A., Fara dealt with everything imaginable, not precluding issues such as rape, suicide, and racism.

Fara's interest in pursuing a law degree took shape while working at the Rape Crisis Center where she would accompany victims to court. While she watched their trials, Fara contemplated ways to help rape victims through this difficult and emotional legal process. Initially, she considered becoming a social worker until her boss at the Crisis Center suggested to her that the best way for her to help victims was to go to law school to become a prosecutor.

Originally from Long Island, Fara attended Emory University on a full merit scholarship where she dual-majored in political science and history with a minor in violence studies. "I'm a big believer in signs and throughout the admission process, things kept happening that pointed me toward Miami. I was accepted to UM for undergrad, so I was familiar with the institution, but my first exposure to UM Law came when I attended the Law School Forum in Atlanta where I met Marni Lennon, the Assistant Dean of Students, who heads a lot of public interest projects at Miami. Miami was the first school to send me an acceptance letter and when I came to the Law Day for Admitted Students in the spring, Professor Alfieri, Director of the Center for Ethic & Public Service, and Professor Rose, Director of the Miami Scholars Program, were panelists and they sold me on the opportunities in public interest at Miami. When I was offered the public law scholarship, I knew Miami was the place for me."

Exposed to the myriad of complexities that public interest lawyers face, law school has a way of turning idealists into realists, but Fara leaves Miami Law with her convictions invigorated. "Still wanting to make a difference after three years of law school, that's more of a testament to the school than to me. There's something special here that kept me going. I had so many good experiences at UM Law that I could never narrow it down to one and say this was the best part of law school. I was an advisor for Orientation my second year and I chaired the Orientation's Ethics and Professionalism Committee my third year. Being president of the Miami Law Women during my second year and my involvement with the H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Through Pro Bono Efforts) program were other great experiences I had at Miami." During her three years at Miami, Fara was also active in moot court, the Center for Ethics & Public Service, and she was a member of the International and Comparative Law Review. Her third year, she was an intern in the Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Unit for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office and she chaired the annual Barristers' Ball.

This month, Fara is graduating near the top of her class. In the fall, she begins work at the State Attorney's Office in Fort Lauderdale; a perfect ending to a story about an idealistic college girl who came to Miami with aspirations of becoming a prosecutor.