The Boyk Brief
Go into chambers with attorneys Chuck Boyk, Mike Bruno, Zac Shaffer, and the attorneys of Charles Boyk Law Offices on The Boyk Brief, as we talk with interesting personalities from the legal world, celebrities, experts, business & community leaders, and other engaging people about a variety of topics.
The Boyk Brief
Andrea Young - Long Road to Law
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In this episode of the Boyk Brief, we learn about Boyk Law Attorney Andrea Young's background and the unusual path she took to become a lawyer. From performing with a traveling circus to having a family while working through college, and from graduating with honors from law school to making it to the final round of tryouts to be a dancer for an NBA team, Andrea's done it all. Check it out today! https://www.charlesboyk-law.com/attorneys/andrea-young/
Also: Watch this episode on YouTube!
Welcome to the Boick Brief. I'm Desmond Strue, Marketing Director at the Charles E. Boyk Law Offices located in Toledo, Ohio. The Boick Brief invites you to go into chambers with the attorneys of Boyk Law as we explore real legal cases, talk to fascinating people in our area, raise awareness about community initiatives, and share helpful information about protecting yourself and those you love. Today we're here with BoIck Law owner Chuck Boyk.
SPEAKER_01Thanks, Desmond Today we have an interesting guest, Andrea Young. Andrea has been an attorney at our law offices since August of 2019 for about a year and a half. And I'm always of the belief that your story explains who you are today. And Andrea has a unique story. She's an individual who wasn't born on third base and thought she'd get a triple. A lot of people believe that attorneys, as a little kid, they wanted to be an attorney, and that's how they got here. Andrea really has a unique story, and I think it explains who she is today. So, Andrea, uh welcome and tell us a little bit about growing up and uh how you got to where you are today.
SPEAKER_02Well, first of all, thanks for calling me interesting, Chuck. I don't know that I am, but that's always we are.
SPEAKER_00That is somewhat questionable though, sometimes. When someone says you're interesting, I don't know if that's necessarily positive, but I think it is in this case.
SPEAKER_02Well, I appreciate it. Um yeah, so I grew up in Toledo, Ohio. I was born and raised. I grew up in West Toledo. I went to Larchmont Elementary for anyone that's local, um, DeVoe for junior high. And then I went to start high school. I was a Spartan for all four years of high school. So I guess I didn't really make it out of the area. I mean, I was born and raised, and I thought I had uh I had dreams to go elsewhere, but here I am today.
SPEAKER_00So it's not so bad, right? I I really enjoy Northwest Ohio.
SPEAKER_02I'm glad that I ended up here and it's a great place. I know it sounds so cliche to raise a family, but it is, and I'm happy that I that I made the decision to stay.
SPEAKER_01Let's talk about uh your life as a little kid because I think that kind of explains uh your ambitions and your motivations of who you are today.
SPEAKER_02Okay. So my parents divorced when I was four. My dad moved down the street, so we were within a couple blocks of each other. Um kind of a funny story. It wasn't probably funny for my dad at the time, but he moved into an apartment, two-bedroom apartment. My uncle went through a divorce at the same time, so there were two adults and six kids in a two-bedroom apartment for a while. Um, but those were some of the best times that I can recall growing up. Um, my siblings and my cousins, we were just outside playing sports. Um, and I think that's part of why I came to love sports. My family are uh they're fanatics, um, but I I do. I love sports, and there's that that drive and that competition, so I think that's where it started. Um but yeah, and then uh I played softball. So I played softball third grade through high school. I danced, I grew up dancing, that was maybe second grade. Um, but those passions they uh you know stayed with me through young adulthood.
SPEAKER_01So let's talk about your dad and uh his trials and tribulations and him being a role model for you.
SPEAKER_02My dad contracted polio, I believe, when he was nine months old. So for me, I only knew my dad being disabled and in a wheelchair. He was on crutches previously, but by the time I was born, he was predominantly in a wheelchair. Um, but he worked. He got up every day, he went to work, he coached us in sports. So I saw someone who was disabled and who had every chance to make every excuse, but they didn't. They led a normal lifestyle. And for me, I said, How can I ever make an excuse in any area of my life? I have, you know, my dad in a wheelchair who gets up when it would snow and no one had come out and shovel yet. He still got up and had to get through the snow and he did it without complaining. So how do I ever make an excuse from there?
SPEAKER_00Right. That's a very high standard.
SPEAKER_01So you went to Davao uh for junior high. I grew up in that area too, and went to Davao um kindergarten through eighth grade.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01Um and uh I also went to START, except uh I think I graduated uh 26 years before you. Maybe I went to school with your your parents or your grandfather. Um but um talk about um the various activities you did at start.
SPEAKER_02Um I was in theater, so I guess I have a performer uh aspect to me, but I did theater, I did softball, um, I did dance. That wasn't necessarily at start, but but I did dance. Um I was in honors classes. Um to me it was it was important to always be involved. Um I played basketball for a little bit, but I stopped growing and everyone else continued to grow, so that didn't work out very well. Um, but softball was my main passion. I played short and third and then dance. I did tap, jazz, ballet, then I started doing hip-hop. So those two main activities were my passion for most of my young adulthood.
SPEAKER_01Let's talk about your jobs, and I think uh your jobs are um in your adventures are a lot more interesting than most people. So let's talk about your first job.
SPEAKER_02Well, I started teaching as an assistant at the dance studio I was at. So I was at Mini Motions, they asked me to be a dance teacher assistant, so I did that here and there. And then one summer there came an opportunity to travel with a show. Um, and it was called Cirque Magnifique. It was basically a knockoff Cirque du Soleil. Um, but I went around and I was this backup dancer there, and it was bizarre. They did some amazing work. I mean, you had the guy balancing 40 chairs and the people in the silk ropes and um the high wire. I mean, it was a full-blown traveling circus. So I did that for a summer and traveled around Ohio and Indiana and the Michigan area. So it was cool. It was definitely a great experience. Um, I told my dad at one point that I wanted to go to circus school. He shot that down real quick, but um, I don't know, I think that would have been a good career opportunity for me.
SPEAKER_00It certainly would have uh been with plenty of thrills, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_02I think I missed my calling in the circus.
SPEAKER_01So a lot of people go right from high school to college. Um, you took a little bit more of a circular route. Uh, why don't you explain that route? Because uh I think uh there's some interesting stories there.
SPEAKER_02Yes, so I did not go right from high school to college, as you said. Um I was still in this mindset that I was gonna be a performer, so I started going to auditions. Um, I started auditioning for dance teams for various basketballs. So I did Detroit Pistons, I auditioned for. Um I made it to the last round, but I didn't make it. Um I went to New York, I tried out for the New York Knicks. Um didn't make that. Um, I did various other opportunities. There was like carnival cruise lines, they have performers, so tried out for things like that. So I had this mindset, I was gonna make it out of Toledo, I was gonna be a performer. Um, and then maybe a year and a half of not making it, I said, okay, I think it's time that I need to go to college. Um, so that's when I decided to go to college and see what I could do. Now, no one in my family, well, I shouldn't say no one in my family went to college, but it was feel. Um, it wasn't pushed on me. But I woke up one day and I said, I need to do this. So I went to, I believe it's the Health and Human Services building, and I walked in and I found the first administrative looking office, and I said, I want to enroll in classes. And I got some weird looks. They're like, What are you doing here? So I was guided to I think admissions. Um, and then from there I went and I had to collect all the various information myself, the ACT scores, but I applied myself and got in.
SPEAKER_01And where was this?
SPEAKER_02University of Toledo.
SPEAKER_01Okay. You told me you're five foot two, so could you dunk or you could dunk?
SPEAKER_02I mean, when I'm on a trampoline, I can get pretty high, but well, maybe you maybe you could have combined things.
SPEAKER_00You could have gone to circus school, got the stilts, and then tried out for basketball. And then we're maybe we would have had something.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, I didn't quite hold up in the legs department, so in some of the auditions, I was the shorter of uh of the girls' auditioning, so it didn't work out that well for me, but hey.
SPEAKER_00Well, hey, you know what? Lady Gaga is also five foot two, so you know right. I don't have excuses. The height is no excuse.
SPEAKER_01Right. And you can indicate to people that uh you were the last cut of the piston. Almost just missed the NBA. Almost. Yeah. So um you're in college now at University of Toledo. Um were you on Easy Street, or how'd you get through?
SPEAKER_02So when I started, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Um, but with my background in athletics and dance, I figured it would be something medical-ish. So I started out in kinesiology, and it's the study of the movement of the body. Um, I didn't stay in it, I ended up transferring over to physical therapy assistant, which I had to change schools. So I went from UT to Owens, I tried that out, and I'm gonna tell you a little story about that. So they make you do observation hours before you get into the program, and thank goodness. So I had to do various settings. Um, after the one setting, it was inpatient hospital, I believe. And there was an older gentleman, I don't know, probably in his 80s, who was wearing a hospital gown doing physical therapy, and that was the last day that I did the physical therapy assistant program. So after that, I uh decided I need something else. So I went back to UT. I got into um athletic training. That was really cool. I got to work with the football team, but at this time I had two kids. So throughout my college career, I did I got pregnant twice, so I had small children. And athletic training, you're on the road a lot, you're working late hours, so I said this isn't gonna be for me. So I went back to my advisor, and they basically said, You gotta pick something at this point. I had fulfilled all my general courses, and they started asking me my interest, and I said I always kind of had an interest for law. So they set me up with the introduction to law course, and I loved it. I mean, from class one day one, I I was sparked. I I loved it. So I guess that led me to where I am today.
SPEAKER_01Let's talk about uh the other types of jobs you had to put your w to pay your way through school.
SPEAKER_02Sure. So I uh served at various places, and I also taught dance too. So I was at a place called Dance Effects, I was doing that part-time as well, so I was just trying to, you know, stay above water doing whatever I could.
SPEAKER_00So you had two kids, you were in school at least part-time or full-time, correct, working two jobs. Wow. I'm I'm so impressed. I had no idea that that, you know, you were had you had you were working so hard to get to through your undergrad just your undergraduate. Correct.
SPEAKER_01That's incredible. And the time you took the law class, were you already like a junior or senior?
SPEAKER_02I believe so. I think I was a junior at the time.
SPEAKER_01So and so your undergraduate degree is in what?
SPEAKER_02Paralegal studies. So once I took that intro to law class, that set me on my path to get the rest of my courses in the paralegal studies program. So after I graduated, I then worked as a paralegal at a at a firm.
SPEAKER_00Just for the sake of uh of clarification, because it took me kind of, I felt like it took me a long time to really understand what a paralegal is and does. Can you explain like what what what is the job scope of a paralegal?
SPEAKER_02I mean, in just the most basic general sense, they really are the right hand of the attorney. So uh they can draft pleadings for our review. We have to review everything. Um, but they really are, you know, I hate to say assistant, but they really are right there with the attorney helping them, you know, draft things, keep up with the clients. Um they're basically an attorney that maybe did not go to law school. And for me, it was a four-year degree. So there are um there's certificates, there's degrees. I think we're finding more and more that a four-year degree is probably wanted in some of the aspects.
SPEAKER_01So you graduate from um undergrad. What happens next?
SPEAKER_02So uh once I graduated, I think it was maybe a month or two, I ended up getting a job as a paralegal um at my first firm. And I worked there for a couple years. And I ended up getting married. I had a third child at this point. So when I went on maternity leave, I decided not to return to that firm. But at that time, I thought, if I'm gonna go to law school, I have to do it now. I'm at the time I felt I was getting up there in age. I now had three children, so I said, if it's gonna be now, or if it's going to happen, it's gotta be now. I took the LSAT, I applied, I did it kind of in a rushed manner, but um, I was, you know, not working at the time. I had sent out letters to various attorneys putting myself out there. I am uh I'm a paralegal, I can basically work freelance, hire me as you need me. So an attorney answered that. Um, she ended up hiring me um part-time, and then I found out I got into law school. So I started working part-time as a paralegal and then I did law school at night.
SPEAKER_00You were able to do that to do both of those, because I think for a lot of times they say for L1s, you're they're not they don't encourage you to work, right?
SPEAKER_02Yep, if you're a full-time student, they do not want you to work, but because I was doing part-time law school, I was able to work and do you know classes.
SPEAKER_01So my understanding is it was a four-year program at night, but you went in the summer and you were able to graduate in three years?
SPEAKER_02It is so the part-time evening program is a four-year program. Um, I went to classes every summer. I took two or three classes a summer. And then my third year of law school, I ended up going full-time. I think I was taking maybe 18 credit hours, um, and I pushed through it and got it done in three years. So that wasn't my intention initially, but things happened and I pushed through. So I wasn't able to take the um, I wasn't able to take the bar that summer, I think is when they offer it. I had to wait until February of that year. Um, but luckily I took it one time and I passed. So that I couldn't imagine um having to take it multiple times. I really feel for people because I think you you put in so much effort that first time that I would have been devastated if it didn't work out.
SPEAKER_01And if I remember your resume, because I went through it when I was hiring you, um, and you haven't mentioned it, uh, your grades in undergrad and in law school were really good, correct?
SPEAKER_02They were. I did um, I pretty much was on what is it called, principal or dean's list um every semester. So I graduated uh magna cum laude for both undergrad and law school. And I was in the top 10 of my law school class. So somehow I did I did it. Um I would work, you know, like we were talking about. I would work during the day. I would go to evening classes maybe around five o'clock. Um I would get home about 9:30 and then I would read from like 10 to 1, you know, the reading. You had a and for me, it was important to sit in the front row of my law school classes because I knew that I needed to pay attention. I couldn't sit in the back row like other people and zone out. So for me, I sat in the front row, but they had cold calling. And I don't know if you remember the cold calling, Chuck, but that means that your professor, um, well, let me back up. So in law school, you basically learn through case law, and they have you read cases and then they quiz you on it. So there was always this fear of you being called on a case and you not knowing what you're talking about or not being able to answer. So for me, it was very important that I stayed up on my reading.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god. Do you think you had an advantage because you were a little bit older and you pretty much had a gun at your head that you knew you had to be successful?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, potentially. I mean, regardless of my age, I think I always would have been like that. But at the same time, I was a little bit older. I had three kids, so for me, I'm not gonna waste my time, you know, one going to classes or the money if I were to fail class. So that was very important to me that I took it serious and made the most out of it.
SPEAKER_01We're up in uh this is your wife, to you graduated from law school. Um, what happens next?
SPEAKER_02So I graduated, um, and it took me that summer, so I graduated in that summer, I took the bar in February of 2017. So I was admitted to practice in May, and I'll just share a quick story about that. So, going back to softball, I joined a co-ed softball team um that spring of 2017. So the first game I'm playing, I'm at second base, and I get basically ran over by this man, um, and I broke my foot. So at the admissions in Columbus, um, I'm the very last person to be called, and I'm wearing a boot, I'm wearing a walking boot, and they have like a little bit of a curve to it, so you kind of rock. So at admissions, you go up a stage, and again, I'm the very last person, I guess because of my last name. I'm walking across in a boot, and then there's stairs right down the middle of the stage. So I'm trying to get down these stairs in front of hundreds of people in a boot. It was pretty embarrassing. Luckily, I did not fall, so I made it, but thank god. That's what I remember about being admitted to practice law is not falling down well in my walking boat.
SPEAKER_00Would have been a great that would have been an even better story though if you had fallen, but I'm glad you didn't.
SPEAKER_02Um, but so I was admitted in May, and then by August of 2017, I got my first job as an attorney. Um I did Mass Torts, so that's what Wes at our office does here. And I actually was at the firm that he was previously at, but um I got into Mass Torts, which we basically call the cousin of um of class actions. I won't go into all of that, but I started out working there. I did that for about two years, and then I decided I wanted to try something different, and I was really intrigued by personal injury, so here I am now and I'm happy.
SPEAKER_01What would you tell a kid graduating from high school now who um didn't want to go right to college and really wasn't sure what they wanted to do?
SPEAKER_02I would say uh follow your heart. Um, I don't think you have to know exactly what you wanted to do. So I didn't necessarily follow the timeline that society necessarily says you have to follow. And while that made me nervous and maybe made my parents nervous, as am I supposed to be where I'm at in my life at the appropriate time? Um, I think you do need to follow your heart and you know, don't wait. If you want to do something, I would say do it. There's never going to be a right time. So don't wait for this magical uh, you know, number or date to appear. Do it now, try it, whether that means going to school or pursuing your performing art career. So I would say just go for it.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And if you you know that if you had just gone straight out of high school into into some college program, the back of your mind, all you'd be thinking about is man, I could be I could be doing something else. It could be pursuing this other passion in your life, and you know, you'd be thinking you would always be thinking about that. Now you know, like, eh, it probably wasn't meant to be, and now you know you can have more confidence that you're in exactly the right spot.
SPEAKER_02I think so. Yeah. And while, you know, it's easy to go, man, I wish this would have turned out different or this would have been different. I'm a Believer in the butterfly effect. So who knows if something would have been different back then, would I have been where I'm at now? And where I'm at right now is working out pretty well. So I don't think I would change anything.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome. So you would have had no expectation or even thought in your mind when you were graduating from high school that you'd end up being a lawyer.
SPEAKER_02Oh no, no. There was nothing in any kind of thoughts that I wanted to be a lawyer. I think at that time they have you fill something out, uh, like a career analysis. I think that I was gonna be a flight attendant based off of that. So I I never got to work as a flight attendant. I do think it'd be very cool, but I think that ship is sailed.
SPEAKER_00So your height would certainly work well for you in that uh in that profession.
SPEAKER_01Um so what do you enjoy um best about representing people that were injured in accidents? Because that's pretty much what you do now.
SPEAKER_02I it's so cliche, but I really enjoy hearing their story and then helping them. And it really is hard to navigate it. I mean, we do this every single day, and we still come across new things that we brainstorm about. And I can't imagine being someone who has been through something so traumatic and trying to figure things out at that time. Um, I had lost so my older two children, their father died in a motorcycle accident. And I get it. I mean, when you are going through tragedy, you're not necessarily in the right frame of mind to know how to handle these situations. So it honors me that people come to me and to trust me to guide them and help them along in this serious time of theirs.
SPEAKER_00Wow, that's huge. And I hadn't really thought about that, but you're right. It's it is gonna be an ever-changing field and an ever-changing world of helping people navigate. But people are going through oftentimes the you know some of the worst times of their lives. It's very it's helpful to have people who truly know what they're doing and to have such a uh a warm and friendly person to talk to about it.
SPEAKER_02So and I think that is important that people feel comfortable. I mean, not only are you knowledgeable, and you know, that's very important, but that they also feel comfortable and can trust you.
SPEAKER_01Right. Any other lessons that you would uh tell the young people out there, the other start Spartans out there and other people in the community?
SPEAKER_02Stay out of trouble. Um like don't do certain things. Um, that's just gonna make life harder. But no, follow your dreams, don't be afraid, and and just do it now. Don't wait. I think with the pandemic, we all kind of saw, you know, what can happen when you wait. There's so many things that were put in a hold. So I would say just go for it. Do follow your dreams and follow your heart.
SPEAKER_01D do any of your kids want to be a starving artist?
SPEAKER_02Oh goodness. I mean, not a starving artist. My one daughter wants to be a famous chef at some point. So, I mean, I'm on board for that. She's whipping up tasty treats at the age of 14, so I love that. Um, my other daughter wants to be a vet, which I'm okay with that. When I was growing up, I said I I wanted to be a vet, but I really wanted to be a pet shop owner. So when I was a kid, it was either pet shop owner or president.
SPEAKER_01Similar.
SPEAKER_02You know what my dad said? You can be either one, so go for it.
SPEAKER_00You know, in some ways, maybe uh, you know, an attorney is somewhat in the middle of that. You're in control, you know, in control of a lot of things in the legal field, and you also have a lot of wild animals to do well sometimes.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think I hit it right in the middle. Um, but no, so my kids haven't gone that path yet, but we'll see. There's still time.
SPEAKER_01Well, thanks a lot, Andrea. I think you have a, like I said, an interesting story, and I think it's great the way that you were able to um overcome adversity, and basically um, through hard work and determination, um, you were able to reach your goals.
SPEAKER_02Thanks, Chuck. I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_00Thanks so much for being here. Really appreciate uh hearing so much about your story. Thank you for listening to the Boyk Brief. Tune in next time for more stories of law and life.