After graduating, Briona began writing the U.S. Bar Assessment, one of the most rigorous expert licensing examinations in the nation.
Her first attempt can be found in July 2021 throughout a particularly demanding season of her life. At the time, she had just moved to Illinois, bought her first home, and started operating at a Fortune 500 company while concurrently preparing for the exam.When she stopped working
the examination, the dissatisfaction struck hard. She admitted sensation sadness, anger, disappointment, and even self-doubt.
Yet after processing those feelings, she advised herself how far she had currently come. “I am a first-generation college student, a first-generation law trainee, and a first-generation property owner,” she shared.Instead of giving up, Briona leaned on her faith and support group and chose to keep going. Her 2nd effort can be found in February 2022.
This time, she believed her preparation would finally settle, but she stopped working again. The outcome became a painful reminder that effort alone does not constantly ensure instant success.By the time she sat for her third attempt in July 2022, she was already feeling dicouraged
and burnt out. Stabilizing a demanding profession in risk and compliance together with intense examination preparation became mentally and mentally exhausting.Looking back, Briona admitted she must have stopped briefly earlier to safeguard her mental health. In 2023, she lastly stepped far from the examination completely.Rather than seeing the break as failure, she used the time to restore herself mentally and mentally. She took a trip, showed, concentrated on her career, and dealt with gaining back confidence outside the pressure of the bar exam.”That time away helped me rebuild my self-confidence and reconnect with who I was outside of the exam. That break didn’t set me back; it prepared me, “she discussed.
Refreshed and more grounded, Briona returned for her 4th effort in February 2025. Although she performed much better, she narrowly missed out on the passing mark by just 8 points that made
it extremely heartbreaking.”There were minutes I questioned whatever,”she admitted. “The rejection felt individual.” Still, she refused to let the disappointment stop her.During this duration, Briona also launched a scholarship
effort to support other bar test retakers, helping ambitious attorneys facing similar struggles.Remarkably, all 4 recipients of the scholarship ultimately passed the bar test, more
reminding her that her journey still had purpose.For her 5th and final effort, Briona entirely altered her study method. Rather of focusing on quantity, she focused on comprehending ideas deeply and improving precision, specifically in the Multistate Bar Evaluation section.Her technique lastly settled. In February 2026, after years of problems, sacrifices, and perseverance, Briona formally passed the bar examination.The emotional minute was caught on video as she commemorated with loved ones who had actually stood beside her throughout the difficult journey.Reflecting on her victory, Briona specified that she belived it was the correct time it happened.”I truly believe in divine timing; that what is meant for you will not pass you. That season taught me durability, humbleness, and discipline, but it likewise reinforced my
faith,”she stated. Now preparing for a legal function within her business, Briona hopes her story motivates others facing duplicated failures not to stop on themselves.She reminds striving attorneys and students that test results do not specify intelligence, potential, or future success.