Meet Henok! Henok was born in Kassala, Sudan, although his family is from Eritrea. As a result of the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, Henok’s family moved to the United States as refugees when he was three years old, and he has called Las Vegas home ever since.
Henok attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he studied accounting and business administration. He worked as an accountant for a couple of years before deciding on a whim to spend some time in my 20s traveling. Henok backpacked Australia for three months, then moved to Japan for a year, and spent another three months backpacking from Mexico to Panama.
After coming home to Las Vegas, Henok worked odd jobs while studying for the law school entrance exam. Some of these jobs included working as a tire mechanic at Discount Tire, an armed security guard at a cannabis growing facility, and a pool cabana host on the Las Vegas strip. He was fortunate to receive a full-tuition scholarship to UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law and graduated in May 2024.
Henok is an avid sports fan and enjoys watching and attending sporting events of all kinds, and hopes to attend a World Cup game at some point this summer.
Henok also enjoys practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and sometimes competes in local tournaments. He’s been an avid practitioner since 2018, and currently holds a purple belt in the sport.
Henok is also the proud owner of a limited-edition Scion FRS Release Series 2.0, of which only 1,000 were ever produced worldwide. He own’s #307 out of 1000.
Q&A
Q: From your many travels, where was your favorite place and why?
A: This is a hard question to answer because I’ve been lucky enough to travel to a lot of cool places! I have to say it’s a tie between Japan and Guatemala. The cultural differences between Japan and the United States can be overwhelming, but overall, it’s an incredible place to visit. I always tell people it feels like traveling to a different planet. On the other hand, I really enjoyed Guatemala for the food and outdoor experiences, including hiking the Mayan ruins of Tikal, swimming in the turquoise pools of Semuc Champey, climbing active volcanoes like Acatenango, and island-hopping in Lake Atitlan.
Q: While working odd jobs before and during law school, did you learn anything applicable to being or becoming an attorney? If yes, please elaborate.
A: Yes! Working in customer service gave me “people-skills” that I use every day, whether it’s figuring out how to break difficult news to a client, trying to find a middle ground with Opposing Counsel, or trying to coax information out of an evasive deponent. The other odd jobs that I’ve worked have also given me an understanding of how the world really works. It also gave me a valuable perspective on how hard it is to make a living in other lines of work, and how fortunate I am to be in this profession.
Q: What is it about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that you like? Has it helped in your legal career? If yes, how so?
A: My favorite thing about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is that it’s very much like the practice of law; there’s a set of rules, but everyone has their own style of playing the game, and you learn to be better by testing your game versus others. It’s not as simple as just showing up – you need to have a game plan and a way of executing it, and you need to be honest with yourself about your own strengths and weaknesses and how to improve them. It’s helped me in my legal career because the sport tests your problem-solving skills under pressure, and it helps me stay grounded, positive, and forward-facing in my practice, because even the worst day at the office is not as bad as getting physically beaten up!
Q: You have so many hobbies and interests. What drew you to the legal profession and not another industry?
A: I was drawn to law because it’s a field that, for better or for worse, permeates nearly every aspect of our society. I’ve always enjoyed learning new things, and a career in law lets me keep feeding that curiosity and seek out whatever interests me. Also, the money is nice!
A special thank you to Henok for being part of this spotlight and sharing his experience with us!