Beatriz Doria: “It’s very satisfying to have a job you like and to be involved at a social level as well”

In a few months you will become a judge. How did you feel when you were told? 

A sense of huge personal satisfaction. I have been preparing for it for the past six years, so when I passed I could not have been any happier. In fact, that's something you're told while you're studying, that the pass mark compensates for all the effort and everything you've had to give up. And that is true.  

How would you describe the process?

The examination is like a very rough road, with constant ups and downs. It is a commitment that also affects your personal life, which is on hold for a while, so psychological work is very important. It's a fight with yourself. 

And you don't always win, I understand.

There are hard times and you often trip and fall, but the most important thing is never to give up. Bad moments are allowed but you can never give up, success certainly involves persistence. When you don't feel like it, when you don't think it's worth focusing on your goal, you must continue and persist. The examination involves spending a very long time achieving a high level of performance and that is difficult to maintain. 

What other factor do you think is essential for any candidate for this examination?

Your family environment is very important. Support and respect for your work from the people closest to you is essential and necessary. Although something you must have is patience, a lot of patience. 

You also must have had to exercise patience due to the arrival of the pandemic. 

In my last year, the oral examinations were suspended and that made the process even longer. Everything was shrouded in uncertainty, which is undoubtedly the worst enemy to face when taking these examinations. 

In any case, you were finally able to move forward. What are the next steps from now on?

I am currently attending the Judiciary School and from December I will begin my supervised work placement with a magistrate for a period of six months. From there on, my training will end and I will be sent to the first destination of my judicial career. 

That sounds good. 

I am very excited about everything that lies ahead, it is like a dream come true. It’s very satisfying to have a job you like and to be involved at a social level as well.

When did this dream start for you? Did it start during your time in the Faculty or afterwards? 

I had always been attracted to the idea of being a judge, so I started to study law at UIC Barcelona with that idea in mind. Throughout my studies I was hesitating, but finally in fourth year I decided. I had the opportunity to gain work experience both in a law firm and in the courts and I could clearly see that the latter would become my territory.  

 In the end it will be. 

I remember the friendly way I was treated by the lecturers and professors in the Faculty and that some of them even encouraged me to take the exams, so I am grateful to them. I have great memories of the University. 

What would you say to all the students who are currently taking their Degree and who might consider the option of taking the official chartered examinations like you did?

I would tell them that it is a very hard road but it is well worth it. The more you strive and the more you sacrifice, the shorter that path will be. The experience is also enriching on a personal level, it helps you to get to know yourself and develop many virtues you didn't know you had.