Brittan Heller
Washington, DC US
"You start off with conviction, something that grabs you. You're not sure what the picture is going to look like in the beginning phases, but as you proceed, you gain speed and suddenly you see the picture start to form."
Career Roadmap
Brittan's work combines: Law, Politics, and Helping People
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
In law, there are a lot of predetermined expectations or prescribed ways when it comes to doing things. Taking the ownership of your path to say, "no I don't want to do it this way", is really scary, but empowering. As long as you get the skills you need to succeed, the path you take to get there is completely your own.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
English Language and Literature, General
Stanford University
Doctorate
Law
Yale University
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
Started down her path when she visited the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.
2.
The museum has visitors follow the journey of a child through the Holocaust; the child Brittan got shared her last name.
3.
Started to realize that behind every atrocity, there are individual people, not just numbers; felt incredibly weighty.
4.
Went to law school with the intention of becoming a human rights lawyer, did her fellowships in Korea and Afghanistan
5.
Says there are two ways to think about your career: "paint-by-numbers" or "connect the dots."
6.
"Paint-by-numbers": You know what you want to do, you take a drawn-out set of steps to reach an end goal.
7.
"Connect-the-dots": Start with one interest or idea, then take the next step, without knowing what the final outcome will be.
8.
Says she's chosen the "connect-the-dots" method and it's been the right choice, her picture is continually developing.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Peers:
You have to do "x" if you want to do "y".
How I responded:
In law, there are a lot of predetermined expectations or prescribed ways when it comes to doing things. Taking the ownership of your path to say, "no I don't want to do it this way", is really scary, but empowering. As long as you get the skills you need to succeed, the path you take to get there is completely your own.