Redefining Resilience: A Conversation with YLD Chair Sheila Spence on Reflections for Women’s History Month

By Alex Gwynn 

Opening Question: Resilience & Motivation

Alex: As we reflect during Women’s History Month, how would you define resilience in your own words, and looking back on your journey through law school into leadership, what feels most meaningful about that time, especially what sustained or motivated you to keep moving forward during such a challenging season?

Sheila: Resilience is the decision to keep showing up, especially when there is no guarantee that showing up will be enough. It is not the absence of fear or doubt. It is moving forward in spite of them, one day at a time.

I dreamed of becoming a lawyer when I was nine years old. That dream did not come with a roadmap, and the path turned out to be harder than I ever anticipated, yet more meaningful because of it. When things got difficult, I kept returning to that original dream and what it meant to me. That was enough to keep me moving.

What feels most meaningful now is not simply reaching this point. It is knowing what it cost to get here, and that I did not give up.

Perspective & Breaking Barriers
Leadership Through Experience

Alex: As the first Black woman Chair of the YLD, what does creating space mean to you, and how have your lived experiences, including the visible and invisible barriers within the legal profession, influenced your leadership? What do you hope people better understand about achieving professional milestones while managing personal challenges behind the scenes?

Sheila: Creating space means making sure that when someone walks into a room, they do not have to spend their energy wondering if they belong there. That energy should go towards their ideas, their work, and their growth, not towards survival. That is at the heart of our YLD theme this year: Breaking Barriers. Because barriers are not always the visible ones; some are the ones people carry internally after years of being made to feel like they are too much, or not enough.

What I want people to understand is that milestones rarely tell the full story. The title, first Black woman Chair of the YLD, is one I carry with immense pride. But it does not show everything that was happening behind the scenes to get here. Achievement and struggle are not opposites. They coexist, often quietly, and the people who look the most composed are sometimes carrying the most weight.

That is exactly why I lead with transparency. If my story makes one person feel less alone in theirs, that is already worth doing.

Mindset & Growth
Perseverance & Strength

Alex: Looking back on your final year of law school, what mindset shifts carried you through, and how did that season reshape your understanding of perseverance and strength? What practices, mentally, spiritually, or through community, helped sustain you during that time?

Sheila: My 3L year tested me in ways I never anticipated. In the middle of finishing law school, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. I share that not for sympathy, but because it is the most honest answer I can give to a question about perseverance.

I made a decision: I was going to beat it, and I was going to finish law school. And I did both! What that season gave me, beyond my degree, was perspective I carry into every challenge I face now. After that, practicing law, even as demanding as it is, looks very manageable now. That is not a complaint about the profession. It is a reminder to myself of what I am actually capable of.

What carried me through was my faith, my family, my friends, and mentors who showed up for me as a whole person, not just as a promising law student. I was very intentional about finding people who allowed me to be fully myself. My close circle of mentors and friends gave me honest feedback because they wanted me to grow, not just to feel comfortable. That kind of mentorship is rare, and I took great care in building those relationships.

J. Cole said it best: “There’s no such thing as a life that’s better than yours.” That became a quiet anchor for me during that time because it’s a reminder to stop measuring my path against someone else’s and to keep fighting for the one that’s mine.

Leadership & Legacy
Responsibility & Breaking Barriers

Alex: As the first Black woman Chair of the YLD, how do you view the responsibility that comes with being “the first,” and how do you hope your leadership creates opportunities for others? What does breaking barriers look like in action, beyond titles or formal milestones?

Sheila: Being “the first” is an honor that carries real weight. You are always aware that your presence is being watched and interpreted, and that how you lead will either open doors or quietly close them for the people who come after you. That awareness does not paralyze me. It motivates me.

Breaking barriers in action looks like mentorship. It looks like making an introduction, advocating for someone in a room they have not entered yet, and telling a young attorney, “I see your potential,” and then proving it by actually showing up for them. When I was trying to break into the profession, I attended every networking event I could find, volunteered, and introduced myself to anyone who would listen. I was honest about what I was looking for and what I had to offer. A general counsel once offered me a position on the spot at a networking lunch. One conversation changed my trajectory, and I carry that as a reminder of what a single act of generosity can do for someone’s path.

Under our Breaking Barriers theme this year, I am challenging young lawyers to think beyond their own next step and to advocate for first-generation lawyers and law students, for mentorship access, for work-life balance, and for a profession that reflects the communities it serves. Breaking barriers is not just about being first. It is about making sure you are not the last.

Encouragement for Others
Advice & Resilience

Alex: What guidance would you share with someone pursuing their goals while facing unexpected challenges, especially women in law or leadership? On the days when resilience feels hardest, how do you define it, and what helps you keep going?

Sheila: Show up, even when you are not sure how you will be received. Introduce yourself. Tell people what you are working towards and what you bring to the table. Visibility is not arrogance; it’s a strategy that works!

I graduated law school without a job offer. I attended bar association events even when I didn’t know anybody and volunteered when I didn’t have much free time. But I was very clear about what I was looking for and what I had to offer. My second legal position came because I had invested in relationships over time, and when I was applying for a position, someone in my network made an internal referral on my behalf. None of these moments would have happened if I had let fear or uncertainty keep me quiet.

Be intentional about who walks beside you. Find mentors and sponsors who let you show up as your full self and who give you honest counsel because they want you to succeed, not simply to feel good. Those relationships will outlast any single opportunity and carry you through seasons when resilience feels impossible.

On the hardest days, resilience is the decision not to quit today. It does not have to be heroic. It just needs to be enough to get you to tomorrow.

Closing Reflection
Impact & Perspective

Alex: Looking at your journey, if your story could shift one common misconception or spark one meaningful conversation, what would you hope it would be?

Sheila: I would want people to understand that the path to success is rarely the one you imagined. Although I knew I wanted to be a lawyer at nine years old, I did not anticipate a cancer diagnosis in law school, graduating without a job, or building my career one networking conversation at a time. But every one of those chapters shaped who I am as a leader, and I would not trade them.

The misconception I want to challenge is that talent and preparation are enough and that if you work hard, the doors will open on their own. They will not always. You have to show up. You have to be visible. You have to build relationships before you need them and ask for help without apology. And you have to do all of that while life is still happening around you, because it does not pause.

The conversation I hope this sparks is about what we owe each other in this profession. Mentorship is not charity; it is how we build something worth belonging to. Every time one of us reaches back and pulls someone forward, the profession gets stronger and more just. Breaking barriers is not a moment. It is a practice, and it is the legacy I am committed to.