31 Things I Learned About Salem Afangideh

Contributed by: Jennifer Murphy

1. She began law school at 17.

2. As a teenager, she wanted to prove her strengths.

3. She didn’t want her young age to pause her dreams.

4. But still wanting to be likable by her peers.

5. Being an immigrant from Nigeria, growing up felt quicker.

6. She dreamed about working at the United Nations.

7. Being a human rights lawyer.

8. Boys, too, sometimes.

9. Law school revealed her multifaceted interests.

10. She pursued non-profit law.

11. She co-founded an organization that caters to African women.

12. She sometimes finds herself being the only woman in a room of lawyers.

13. She became a certified yoga instructor.

14. She’s often the only black woman in a room of lawyers.

15. She wants to be married some day.

16. She wants to have children.

17. She worries being a mother may show her vulnerability.

18. The field of law consists of mostly white men.

19. She often feels she has to work so much harder.

20. She feels she can’t make any mistakes in her profession.

21. Sometimes when she’s stressed, she forgets to eat.

22. Her goal: eating three meals a day.

23. She tries to do one yoga pose a day.

24. She’s been trying to lessen the pressure to prove herself only to others in her career.

25. She curates yoga classes that celebrate black women.

26. She designs a schedule around her most productive days.

27. She creates spaces for meditation.

28. She owns a law practice in Alabama.

29. She describes herself as a lawyer that cares about people.

30. Who’s also trying to practice self-care.

31. Whose last name means “path of courage” in Nigerian.