Andrew Damron

My Greatest Accomplishment

Since graduation, I have had the opportunity to live and work in Shanghai, Brussels and Bangkok. In each of these places, I have met wonderful people who have enriched my personal and professional life. They taught me cultural competency and awareness. They taught me how to see life through a different lens. These are practical skills that I use each day in my practice as an immigration lawyer. Those skills help me connect to my clients, many of whom are asylum seekers and refugees coming from all walks of life. When I represent asylum seekers, it is my responsibility to show the asylum office or the immigration court that my client has a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. Each time that my client is granted asylum, I see a beautiful transformation from vulnerability to stability, and from fear to joy. Each time I stand witness to that transformation, I feel that moment is my greatest accomplishment.

How Drexel Helped

Drexel’s co-op program taught me to value hard work. Drexel also taught me to get away (like, really far away) as an International Area Studies student. Drexel gave me the tools I needed to become fluent in a foreign language, and how to connect with people from any background. Through my work with student groups on Drexel’s campus, I learned to advocate for disenfranchised populations, which was a powerful backbone to my legal education.

Where I’ll be in Five Years

The “where” has never really mattered to me. I’m positive, however, that I’ll be somewhere helping the underdog make their voice heard.