Fall 2025 Winner of the Dream Chaser Scholarship

Talia Braufman

Talia aspires to become a family law attorney. Influenced by her own experiences as a child, she is determined to serve as a voice for children, who are often unheard in legal proceedings. Congratulations, Talia – we know you will positively impact families and children in need of representation!

Read her essay

I could sense the listening ears and watchful eyes as we drifted along the lake on a sunny July afternoon, the boat’s gentle rocking starkly contrasting the unease in my chest. My attention wandered to the unfamiliar woman sitting at the back of the pontoon, keenly observing every interaction. My sister and I, sporting orange life vests, plastered on artificial smiles as my dad summoned the stranger to take our photo, the camera capturing a mere façade of us.

It was my dad’s first supervised parenting time – a tightly controlled introduction to a relationship severed for years and the first step toward his eventual parenting autonomy. My father’s alcohol use, drug addiction, and mental illness robbed us of a healthy relationship and rendered him erratic, unreliable, and potentially unsafe. Despite my worries about spending time with my dad, I was not in a position to refuse visitation – you could say it was outside of my jurisdiction. I had no voice for the gnawing fear that twisted in my stomach each time we were ushered into his world.

The family law system is rooted in the belief that children benefit from relationships with both parents. While I appreciate the court’s good intentions in reuniting a struggling father with his daughters, I questioned, even at ten years old, why I was denied my own advocate. I was never assigned a Guardian ad Litem to represent my interests, and my concerns, expressed to my mother about my father’s reckless behavior and repeated defiance of court orders, remained unheard. My mom, despite her efforts to protect us, was bound by the legal framework that prioritized rigid procedure over the lived experiences and emotional realities we endured.

Years later, I encountered the same system again—but this time from a different angle. As a research assistant at the Institute for Research on Poverty, I analyzed family court cases, scrutinizing the reasoning behind decisions in custody, divorce, and visitation. The legal documents presented a sanitized version of complex human stories. It became clear to me that even the most well-intentioned policies can fall short when they don’t account for the whole picture – when the emotional, psychological, and social dimensions are omitted.

These experiences have shaped my calling. I want to practice family law with a commitment to holistic, empathetic representation. I am particularly driven to advocate for children—those who, like me, often go unheard in legal proceedings that shape the course of their lives. My work will center on ensuring that the law functions not only as a system of rules but as a tool for justice, healing, and empowerment.

A scholarship will be instrumental in helping me realize these goals. Law school is not only an academic challenge but a significant financial undertaking. Receiving this support will ease the financial burden and allow me to focus fully on gaining the expertise I need to make a meaningful impact. It will also empower me to pursue public interest initiatives and family law opportunities without the added pressure of educational debt steering me away from this deeply personal area of law.

Through my work experience at a law firm and in policy analysis, I’ve already been immersed in the complex realities of legal systems and the administrative and human barriers that prevent justice from being realized. I plan to specialize in child and family law and participate in clinical and experiential programs that deepen my exposure to legal advocacy for underserved populations. I want to be in the courtroom, in the community, and in the policy sphere – all spaces where children’s rights and family wellbeing are too often deprioritized.

My long-term vision includes working directly with children and families in crisis, advocating for systemic improvements, and contributing to research and legislative initiatives that promote child-centered legal practices. I aim to support the consistent appointment of Guardians ad Litem, improve how family histories are weighed in custody decisions, and challenge systemic shortcomings that neglect the emotional well-being of the child.

When I look back on that day on the pontoon – the artificial smiles, the invisible fears, the lack of agency – I think about the countless other children navigating similar moments. I want to be the attorney who listens, who validates, and who fights for the voices that deserve to be central to the legal process. With the support of this scholarship, I will be better positioned to devote myself to a career in family law – a path shaped by my past, fueled by research, and driven by a belief that no child should feel invisible in the system designed to protect them.