Happy Even After Family Law opened its From Conflict to Growth Scholarship to students in hopes of helping children of divorce pursue their academic ambitions with a little less financial stress. This scholarship celebrates the resilience that children of divorce learn while striving to bring more recognition to the impact divorce can have on children throughout their lives.
This year, the firm’s New Haven divorce lawyers proudly awarded its $2,500 scholarship to Sarah Goldberg. Goldberg is a law student at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. She is set to graduate in May 2026, after which she’ll take the Bar Exam and enter the legal industry as a fully-fledged attorney.
Goldberg’s scholarship essay stuck with the scholarship selection committee, as it embodied the sacrifices that children often make when faced with their parents’ divorce.
Dual Memories of a Tumultuous Divorce
When describing her reaction to her parents’ divorce, Goldberg paints a picture made up of inconsistencies. In her words, she remembers “tears, cries, questions, confusion,” and yet, her mother describes her as calm, quiet, and numb.
Goldberg’s parents did not divorce amicably but instead broke apart, then, per Goldberg, used their children to get back at one another. While Goldberg’s mother retained full custody of her and her siblings, Goldberg’s father moved across the country, leaving Goldberg to serve as “an instrument at my parents’ disposal; messages, threats, requests, all passed through me.”
Serving as her parents’ mediator, friend, and therapist left Goldberg little space to actually be a child. To protect herself, Goldberg “absorbed, observed, listened, and responded with intention,” internalizing her dissonance and discomfort as her parents blamed one another for the way their lives fell apart.
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A Life Rooted in Damage Control
One part of Goldberg’s scholarship essay stands out from the rest. She describes her achievements growing up not by emphasizing how she grew but rather how her parents reacted to those achievements, and how she was expected to react, in turn.
“Celebrating my achievements felt less like a festivity and more like damage control,” she says, then elaborates by mentioning “the subsequent anxiety over who to run towards first.” She and her siblings learned how to ration their energy and speak in specificities to avoid triggering either of their parents.
In her continuing efforts to shield herself from the fallout of her parents’ divorce, Goldberg learned to read her parents’ body language and to detect even minute changes in tone. If she didn’t, she says that she “risked reigniting a fire that needed only a single breath to spread.”
Growing Independence From a Garden of Strife
Goldberg applied herself to more than a role as her parents’ confidant. She also became a parent to her younger siblings. Her protectiveness grew into a sense of hyper-independence, leading her to try to make her siblings’ lives as normal as possible.
It was in the face of her parents’ chaos and her desire to protect her siblings that Goldberg says she found her voice and purpose. Protecting her siblings gave her a voice she couldn’t summon for herself and allowed her to begin finding herself outside of the shadow of her parents’ chaos.
Goldberg’s story is one that the team with Happy Even After Family Law has seen before, but it’s a story that never loses its power. Children of divorce deserve to be treated with care, respect, and love, not turned into levers that parents can use against one another. Happy Even After Family Law commends Goldberg’s resilience in the face of her family’s strife.
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Sarah Goldberg’s Bright Future
The future is bright for Sarah Goldberg. She’s pursuing a degree in law at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and intends to assume a career as a clerk for a federal district court judge upon her graduation.
“This is a highly competitive post-graduate position that I have been working towards for years,” she says, “and I am beyond excited to dive into my career.”
When asked about her long-term goals, she notes that she hopes to work as a children’s advocate, “whether that be in divorce proceedings, juvenile delinquency proceedings, or education-related matters.”
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Happy Even After Family Law Celebrates Sarah Goldberg’s Success
“Divorce reminds me of growing up on the Gulf Coast during hurricane season,” says Goldberg. “The water is rough and dangerous, housing and foundations crumble, and the beautiful white sand turns to mud. Everything is dark, power is out, and conditions only worsen until the storm passes, the water settles, and the sun shines again.”
“Divorce, just like a community after a storm,” she continues, “depends on resilience.”
Goldberg’s resilience has carried her through rough waters. The team with Happy Even After Family Law has no doubt that resilience will carry her much further in life, personally and professionally.
We wish her the best of luck and hope that the funds from the From Conflict to Growth Scholarship help her finish her legal degree with as little stress as possible.
About the From Conflict to Growth Scholarship
Children whose parents divorce endure a unique kind of stress that deserves recognition. Happy Even After Family Law strives to recognize that stress, as well as the determination it takes children of divorce to forge a bright future for themselves.
The From Conflict to Growth Scholarship promises $2,500 to a standout student attending a United States university, college, or graduate school. Interested applicants should draft an essay of up to 1,000 words going into detail about their experience with their parents’ divorce, the difficult aspects of that process, and how they dealt with that change.
Students interested in applying for the From Conflict to Growth Scholarship can read through the scholarship’s terms and conditions for more information about essay criteria and upcoming submission deadlines.
About Happy Even After Family Law
Happy Even After Family Law wants to help Connecticut residents break down the rights afforded to them when pursuing separations and divorces. Our divorce lawyers have worked with thousands of clients and made it easier for those clients to find the independence needed to live happily.
Divorce can be beautiful when people have the right help. Anyone struggling to initiate divorce proceedings or respond to a petition can connect with our family lawyers today to discuss their legal options. We strive to connect divorcees with experienced attorneys who can take their unique concerns into account.
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