Black bencher encourages students to excel
By Neil Armstrong
Tanya Walker, the first elected black female bencher from
Toronto in the 219-year history of the Law Society of Upper Canada, has advised
new post-secondary students that the principles behind excellence should become
a set of beliefs and their natural way of thinking.
This was her first presentation since she was sworn in as
bencher on August 8. Benchers are elected every four years by lawyers, and
regulate lawyers and paralegals.
She was the keynote speaker at the United Achievers’ Club
annual scholarship and recognition awards held in Brampton, Ontario on
September 17.
Walker told the 15 scholarship recipients that they already
know about excellence because they have had a goal and now they are working on
a new one, which may be to complete college or university with distinction.
“You are living in a great time to achieve excellence, for
instance, technology is so advanced now virtually any question you may have
might be answered on Google,” she said.
Walker said she graduated high school in 1987and at that
time there was a study of blacks in Toronto that graduated from high school.
The graduation rate was 44% almost twenty years ago; 15%
would go to university and 9% to college.
She said the most recent report shows that the rate has
increased by 20%, approximately 65% of blacks graduate from high school with
24% heading off to university and 17% to college.
“When I was in high school, I knew of very few black
partners at accounting and law firms. Hearing of a black CEO was rare. In
entertainment, we had few leading black actors on drama TV. More than ever
there are now black partners at accounting and law firms.”
She said as minorities, immigrants and children of
immigrants “we should be proud of ourselves” but there’s still so much more to
do.
Walker noted that in Canada, on average, a black person
earns 10-15% less than a white person and that there is a justice gap where
there is an overrepresentation of black men in prison.
Black male inmates account to 9% of the total prison
population while they only represent around 3% of the Canadian population.
“We can all work together to make a difference in our
society,” she said.
Walker shared three pointers with the students of what they
can do, as young leaders, to continue to achieve excellence.
“Be confident in who you are,” she said, telling them that
they are unique. “Embrace who you are and don’t let anyone define you. Remember
you have the right to be where you are. You have the right to head where you’re
going.”
The second point is to learn from failure. “You’ll encounter
bumps in the road but it’s important to learn from it, develop a strategy, and
push forward.”
The lawyer told them to never view their challenges an
embarrassment, noting that it is important to understand that “your experiences
facing and overcoming adversity is one of your biggest advantages.”
“If I didn’t have the hardworking qualities of resilience
that my Jamaican parents taught me I would have given up on being a lawyer,”
she told them.
“Third, you have an obligation to give back, especially to
this organization. As children of immigrants or immigrants yourself you cannot
encounter the world with a sense of entitlement and you cannot be ignorant of
what our parents, our grandparents and our ancestors have sacrificed for us so
that we may be where we are.”
She said there is also a need for empathy and there is the
need to “place your hand behind you to lift up others. Do not climb the ladder
and then pull it up behind you.”
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| Tanya Walker, Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada and Founder of Walker Law PC in Toronto, Canada. Photo credit: David Spencer, DSi Fun Photos |
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