Joseline Hardrick shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Joseline, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
One moment that really stuck with me came from an email I received from a recent graduate of law school and our Journey to Esquire program. His story is incredible. He grew up in foster care, became homeless at 18, and was literally living on the mean streets of Ft. Lauderdale. Somehow, through sheer determination and talent, he became a professional football player in both the U.S. and Canada, winning a Super Bowl ring and a Grey Cup (Canada’s version of a Super Bowl ring), playing alongside Tom Brady and working under Bill Belichick.
And yet, when he sat in my Criminal Law class, he told me I was scarier than all of them put together! That still makes me laugh. But the part that made me most proud was when he shared how excited he is to now be working as a prosecutor. He said people like me—professors and mentors who believed in him even when others didn’t—helped keep him moving toward his dream.
Reading his words reminded me why this work matters so much. It isn’t always easy. It can feel overwhelming, even impossible at times. But moments like this remind me that investing in students, creating pathways, and showing up consistently can change lives.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Joseline Jean-Louis Hardrick, a law professor, author, and founder of Journey to Esquire®, a nonprofit that mentors, trains, and supports diverse law students so they don’t just survive law school but thrive in the profession. My own journey: child of immigrants, English as a second language learner, first-generation lawyer, taught me how isolating and intimidating this field can feel. I wanted to create the program I wish I had: a space where students could find mentorship, professional development, financial support, and emotional encouragement all in one place.
What makes Journey to Esquire unique is that it’s not just about academics or career prep, it’s about the whole person. We help future lawyers develop confidence, community, and clarity about their path, while also giving back through service. And we keep it real. We talk about wellness, finances, impostor syndrome, and all the things that don’t usually make it into a syllabus but are crucial to success.
I’m also excited about expanding our programs through books like Girls Rule! Legendary Ladies in the Law, Dream Big Little Lawyer, and From Foster Kid to Football Star. (which is about the graduate I mentioned earlier). All of these are available on Amazon and other retailers that sell books. Each book reflects our mission of telling stories that inspire, uplift, and open doors for those who often feel left out of the narrative.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was sure of myself. I was confident, outspoken, curious, and unashamed. As a child, I assumed everyone thought like me. I’m autistic, so I’ve always had a strong sense of justice, truth-telling, and a very literal way of seeing the world. When someone told me something, I believed they meant it, that it was true, and that they wanted to help. Over time, I learned that wasn’t always the case, and I’ve had to keep reminding myself of that lesson.
As a young Black girl who was tall, poor, and an ESL learner, people often wanted to put me in a box. They expected me to take whatever was handed to me, to help others, but not to dream too big. Some of those messages sank in, and for a while I half-believed them. James Baldwin captured this so powerfully when he wrote, “It took many years of vomiting up all the filth I’d been taught about myself, and half-believed, before I was able to walk on the earth as though I had a right to be here.”
That line has always resonated with me, because it mirrors my own journey. I’ve been unlearning those limits, releasing the lies, and returning to my true self; still confident, still outspoken, still curious, just with more wisdom, humility, and a willingness to keep growing.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes, there was a moment when I almost gave up. It happened while I was working on our documentary, Love, Law, Legacy. The project was deeply personal and incredibly meaningful—it highlights the stories of Black lawyers in Florida and their fight for justice and equality. But let me tell you, getting it from idea to screen was no easy road. There were funding challenges, production delays, and plenty of moments when it felt like too much to carry on top of teaching, mentoring, and running a nonprofit.
I remember sitting with the thought: maybe this is too ambitious, maybe I should just stop. But every time that thought crept in, I thought about the importance of preserving these stories. If we didn’t tell them, who would? And what would it mean for the next generation of students and lawyers who needed to see themselves reflected in this history?
Pushing through and finishing Love, Law, Legacy reminded me that giving up isn’t an option when the work is bigger than you. It also taught me that hard projects stretch you, but they also bless you. The documentary has become a source of inspiration for so many people, and it stands as proof that the hard stuff is often the most important stuff.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
The cultural value I protect at all costs is what I call our IDEALS: inclusion, diversity, equity, access, leadership, and service. Those six words guide everything I do with Journey to Esquire and beyond.
For me, inclusion and diversity are about making sure every voice has space at the table, not just the ones that traditionally get heard. Equity and access are about leveling the playing field because talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. Leadership means developing people who use their influence to uplift others, not just themselves. And service is the glue that holds it all together. We are here to serve our communities, our students, and ultimately the profession.
Protecting these values isn’t always easy. The world still wants to gatekeep, to tell certain people “this isn’t for you.” But IDEALS are my non-negotiable. They remind me of the kind of lawyer, professor, and person I want to be, and they’re the reason Journey to Esquire exists.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Right now, I’m building something that may not fully pay off for another 7 to 10 years, a production company called Stand as Ten Thousand Productions. Through it, I create uplifting content in all kinds of forms: documentaries, animations, dramas, stage productions, and more.
The vision is big. I want to tell stories that inspire, educate, and empower, especially stories rooted in history, culture, and community. Projects like this take time. They don’t come with instant returns, but they have the power to create a legacy. Ten years from now, I want to look back and see a body of work that not only entertained people but also changed the way they think about justice, identity, and belonging.
So yes, it’s an investment in the long game. It’s planting seeds now, scripts, films, partnerships that will blossom into something much larger in the years ahead.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://joselinehardrick.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jjhardrick/
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/JoselineHardrick
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JJHardrick
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jhardrick/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdbU42gg7FDNrsUzLL0kUmQ
- Other: To see all of my books, visit: jjhardrick.com
