E
lisa Pleasant is
exceptionally
modest. But
don’t confuse
modesty with a
lack of drive.
Living in the
troubled, gang-ridden Englewood
neighborhood in Chicago, Pleasant
decided at an almost preternaturally
early age to succeed. “I made a lot
of decisions when I was eight that
I stuck to,” says the second-year
health law student. “I saw traps and
pits early on that I don’t think others
saw, and I knew you had to make a
conscious decision to avoid them.
You weren’t going to avoid them in
Englewood through luck.”
The result of Pleasant’s foresight
and planning? An undergraduate
degree from Duke University. A
creative writing certificate from the
University of Chicago. And in 2013,
Pleasant expects to complete her
law degree. All this while managing
systemic lupus erythematosus, a
chronic autoimmune disorder.
Here Pleasant explains how
her grade-school plans became the
foundation for long-term success.
Q:
Tell us about your family and
the neighborhood you grew up in.
A:
I’m really close to my family.
I’m the middle child, with one older
and one younger sister, and then
I have two older brothers who are
just my father’s kids. My mom’s a
schoolteacher, and my father was a
cab driver until he became disabled.
Even though it was a dangerous
neighborhood, I really had a sense
of family in Englewood. My great-
grandmother lived across the street,
and a lot of her siblings lived nearby.
I also had a lot of cousins who lived
there. I felt like there was a family
connection with most of the people
on my block.
But I was exposed to a lot of
things that are typical in Englewood
but are little snippets of tragedy you
wouldn’t find anywhere else. When I
was eight, a three-year-old girl I knew
stuck a needle in her arm, probably
mimicking what she’d seen others
do. It showed the lack of protection
around her.
Q:
What made your experience
so different?
A:
I always seemed to know that
education was important. I knew
there was a barrier between the
people we saw on TV and what I
was living every day. That was a very
young realization for me, and I started
to fight for my dreams early.
Q:
You have an undergrad
degree in biology and worked at
the University of Chicago’s Cancer
Research Center. Why law school?
A:
When I was young, I knew
a lot about AIDS because I had a
cousin who was dying of it. One of
my earliest goals—when I was six
or seven—was to cure AIDS. In high
school and my first years of college,
I thought I’d become a doctor. In
my junior year of college, I realized
I had no passion to be a doctor and
decided to do medical research.
The transition came when I was
diagnosed with lupus while working
at the University of Chicago. I’d been
trying to find my scientific passion for
years, but I realized that if I had lupus,
was just downstairs from the lupus
research center, and still had no deep
interest in this area, I probably wasn’t
going to get that desire. What I cared
about was making sure people in my
neighborhood have access to health
care. That’s when I realized my real
passion was law—that I wanted to
impact change.
Q:
You have a prestigious Albert
Schweitzer Fellowship, which
pairs students with community
organizations to identify unmet
health needs. Explain your work as
a Schweitzer Fellow at Perkins Bass
Elementary School in Englewood.
A:
My goal is to see if we can
implement a nutrition program into
the physical education program,
especially at this school, because it’s
located in a food desert—an area
where healthy, affordable food is
difficult to obtain. Besides my work
on the nutrition program, I also want
to make sure the students are getting
as much from me as they can. They
tell me who’s bullying them. And
one little girl came to me and said,
“I have anger-management issues.”
Sometimes kids just need hugs; they
may not know me, but they know I’ll
give hugs. I’m making sure I’m not
this rigid person who’s got her own
agenda but forgets about the agenda
of the kids.
Q:
What do you do for fun?
A:
I hang out with my little sister,
my mother, and my best friend. I like
movies. But I have a very serious life
and don’t take enough time out for
fun. Right now, I’m making lists of
things I want to get back into. I
used to play cello. I also want to
dance again. When I was in college, I
danced. We had a performance every
year, and being part of a show was
exhilarating. I also write poetry and
a few private blogs. Writing is my
passion and my release.
■
STUDENT PROFILE:
ELISA PLEASANT
»
MAPPING HER SUCCESS
Determination at a young age helped 2L overcome obstacles that have tripped countless others in her shoes
“I’MMAKING SURE
I’MNOT THIS RIGID
PERSONWHO’S GOT
HER OWN AGENDA
BUT FORGETS
ABOUT THE AGENDA
OF THE KIDS.”
2L Elisa Pleasant forged her
multidisciplinary educational
path in grade school and has
followed it ever since.
»
Eye on education
SPRING 2012
21
20
LOYOLA LAW
