Nadia Deans Kalata on Family, Travel and Sci-Fi Movies

My colleagues would be surprised to know that … I have a green belt in karate.  

The quality I most like in a lawyer is … integrity. 

My career high point (so far) has been … making people’s dreams come true—whether it’s keeping a family together by helping a spouse or child obtain legal permanent residence, or helping a foreign entrepreneur obtain her investment visa.

If I weren’t a lawyer, I’d be … a travel blogger visiting every country in the world. 

When I started, I wish I knew … that I can’t help everyone, no matter how much I want to. 

My real-life heroes are … my parents. They mean the world to me and I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am today without their love and sacrifice. 

On weekends I … spend time with my favorite people: my husband and son.

I get angry when … people are treated unfairly, especially when they are taken advantage of and exploited by others. 

My motto is … “The best way to finish something is to start it”—inspired by one of my favorite books, Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone.

If I had a morning show, my co-host would be … Trevor Noah because he’s witty and intelligent. Not sure how useful I would be, though, because I’d most likely be laughing hysterically throughout the whole show. 

Nothing cheers me up like … my son. He always puts a smile on my face.

My guilty pleasure is … watching sci-fi movies.

I collect … at least one locally made item from every country I visit. 

My least favorite word is … impossible, because there is always a way to figure something out and work toward achieving a goal, dream or whatever you want in life. 

I’m inspired when … I see someone who’s been working hard finally achieve their goal. Whether it’s a close friend, or someone I read about in the news, I’m genuinely happy for them and motivated by their success. Because at the end of the day, we’re all working hard toward our own goals, so when one succeeds it paves the way for and inspires the rest of us to succeed. We’re all in this together.