In May, I was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. I am the son of Cuban immigrants and a first-generation American, and serving on the federal bench has been a dream come true.

Many factors motivated me to pursue a federal judgeship, not least of which was my experience clerking—almost 15 years ago—for an extraordinary judge in my district who, early on in my clerkship, made clear that his law clerks were part of his family. So when I got confirmed this year, a clerk family is exactly what I strived to create.