The Record: Can you tell us about your academic background and what drove you to law school?

Gemma del Carmen: I’m a “KJD”––as we’re affectionately termed––which means I went straight through kindergarten, undergrad, and to my JD. I went to the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and I was a double major in political science and psychology, with a minor in Spanish and honors track in theology––which is a mouthful.
 
I started with politics and then realized that I loved psychology as well. I also did a lot of externships and internships during undergrad, interning on Capitol Hill and for a few different companies, including a startup, a crisis language translation nonprofit, and in political opposition research.
 
I always knew I wanted to go to law school. My parents are both immigrants, and––like a classic immigrant family––my brother is a doctor, so it’s very much predestined and happened to be that my passion ended up aligning. I was really fortunate to be able to consider a career in the law.

The Record: Did you have a favorite class or professor at BU Law?

Gemma del Carmen: My favorite class was Legal Research and Writing with Professor Laura D’Amato. I think it provided the most applicable skills, because no matter who you are or what you’re going into, being a strong writer is always a priority. You don’t just come into law school knowing how to write like a lawyer.
 
Professor D’Amato and Jenna Fegreus, our librarian, were just the best in the world. Professor D’Amato was so good at breaking things down piecemeal for us so that we could take things step-by-step and build up a foundation to being a strong writer.
 
And Librarian Fegreus was so supportive. I always talk about how great the research librarians are in the writing classes, because they’re just a wealth of knowledge and can always help you find what you need.

The Record: You recently participated in the Vis Moot Court Competition in Vienna, Austria. What was that experience like?

Gemma del Carmen: I’m the editor-in-chief of the International Law Journal, and as a 2L staff member last year, I watched a lot of the board members attend the Vis competition. I have an interest in international law, and it seemed like a really unique opportunity.
 
I was fortunate to attend this year with a great group of JD and LLM students, two recent graduate coaches, and our head coach, Dimitrios Ioannidis (CAS’86, LAW’90), and it opened an entirely new world for me. The way the competition works is there are about 400 law schools competing from all over the world and 2,000 arbitrators who come in to judge the arguments. But it’s also somewhat of a networking conference, and you get to meet so many different people.
 
As a daughter of immigrants, I grew up with a sentiment of internationality. Most of my family still lives in Latin America, so I have a very bicultural mindset, or bi-country mindset. It was great to get to engage with people who are different in that way as well.  

The Record: Aside from leading the International Law Journal, what other activities did you participate in while at BU Law?

Gemma del Carmen: Last year, I was the vice president of the Women of Color Collaborative, which was one of the great privileges of my time in law school. It’s an intersectional group for all Women of Color, and I loved the space because it allowed all Women of Color to find commonality.

I was also a fellow for the Legal Research and Writing Program for Professor D’Amato, and that was one of the most fulfilling experiences. I loved watching the 1Ls grow as writers, but also as law students, and finding their areas of interest. Every 1L is a future leader, so it was great to watch them figure out which area they want to lead in.

The Record: Do you have any hobbies that you enjoy outside of the classroom and your leadership positions?

Gemma del Carmen: I’m a hobby enthusiast. I sew a lot of my own clothes, I do my own nails, and I go to my pottery studio once a week at least. Kim Wong, associate director for government & public interest careers, teaches at my pottery studio. I also love thrifting and sustainable shopping and have been watercolor painting.
 
I’m a creative gal. Sometimes people in the legal field don’t talk about their creativity as much, and so I’ve been trying to cultivate a larger legal crafting community.
 
And I love hanging out with my friends!

The Record: Congratulations on securing a clerkship at the First Circuit Court of Appeals! What made you choose to clerk after graduation?

Gemma del Carmen: I came to law school not really understanding what lawyers did to the fullest extent, because you think you know, and then you show up and realize there are so many different opportunities. Early on, I heard about clerkships, and I’d heard some judges talk about how clerkships offer a great experience to see a huge swath of the law. It seemed like a wonderful opportunity to get to learn about and participate in a very wide area of law. That was the most appealing thing –– the diversity of what a clerkship brings.

The Record: Do you have plans once the clerkship is finished?

Gemma del Carmen: I plan to join a private law firm that focuses on health law in the Boston area. I developed a disability during my first semester of law school and became deeply passionate about the healthcare industry, so, ultimately, working at the intersection of health law and policy is my dream.

The Record: What will you remember most about your time at BU Law?

Gemma del Carmen: I came into law school so afraid of law school. As someone who’s a minority and didn’t have a lot of exposure to lawyers, I was very afraid of not being good enough to go to a school like BU.
 
What I’ve learned over the past three years is that this community is incredibly unique and supportive. What I’ll remember most are the spaces that we got to occupy––that the school allowed us the freedom to take up––and how much everyone really participates in our community spaces.
 
Getting to be here, working in Student Affairs as an equity fellow, working in Admissions as a tour guide, and being a part of the many communities I have makes me so excited every day to get up and come here. And that was true even when I was the sickest and didn’t know what was going on with my health. The thing that made me want to continue to get up and come to school was knowing that I got to see the people at BU Law. I’ll always remember the people who valued me in the same way that I valued them.
 
Going to a PWI (Predominantly White Institution) as an undergrad, the environment for me was incredibly different. So, coming to BU, where we’re about 40% POC, the community just felt really amazing. People uplift you all the time. I think having people who believe in you is really what gets people where they should be, especially women, and I’m so grateful to have had that here.