When Daniel Pope was working as a chef at Lula Caf\u00e9 in Chicago, he manned the kitchens with a line cook named Cipriano.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the best line cook I have ever seen. I mean, the way he moved,\u201d Pope recalled. \u201cHe was like a ballet dancer. He never spoke during service. He would make jokes before and after, but during service he was always really focused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cipriano took off for a week to visit Mexico. But when the week was up, he didn\u2019t return. Like many kitchens in the restaurant industry, employees are tight-lipped about their immigration status. Pope never knew for sure, but the rumors were that Cipriano was late in returning because there were some problems with the coyotes \u2013 guides who help people cross the U.S.\/Mexico border illegally.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really struck me,\u201d Pope recalled. \u201cHere\u2019s this guy that shows up earlier than all of us, who works harder than all of us, but wasn\u2019t getting the same benefits as all of us because there are some lines on a map and some laws that he couldn\u2019t navigate because of language difficulties. There wasn\u2019t an advocate.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, he decided to become one. And that was Daniel Pope\u2019s first step on the journey to pre-law at UW-Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
Pope is not your traditional student. He\u2019s in his 40s, married, and enjoyed a long career as a chef before he decided to earn his Bachelor\u2019s.<\/p>\n
His dad was in the Air Force, and Pope followed his father\u2019s postings around the United States as a kid. His work in the restaurant industry began as a teenager when he was living in Omaha, Nebraska.<\/p>\n
\u201cI became a vegetarian. This was 1995 in Omaha, so I had to learn to cook for myself,\u201d he joked. Then he found that he liked cooking. He began working in restaurants, went to culinary school, and established a career as a chef before he and his wife settled in Milwaukee to be close to family. He\u2019s worked at restaurants like AP Bar and Kitchen and Glass + Griddle. Today, he\u2019s a pastry chef at an Italian restaurant in Bayview.<\/p>\n
But the restaurant industry is hard on your body, and Pope was ready for a change. He\u2019d always been interested in politics \u2013 \u201cI follow politics the way most people follow the Kardashians or cooking shows,\u201d Pope laughed \u2013 and was also interested in law. His experiences watching immigrant line cooks being treated unfairly made him want to do more to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then I guess, it all came to a head when President Trump issued his Muslim travel ban,\u201d Pope said. He watched in fascination as people rallied at airports to protest the executive order that prohibited travelers and refugees from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was suspended by a couple of lawyers in New York, and I went, \u2018This is something a person can do. \u2026 A couple of people with the right brains and the right words can stop this. You can fight for something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope was also inspired by his wife, who after years as a server, decided to attend college to earn her nursing degree. With her example, the inspiration of ACLU lawyers fighting the travel ban, and his desire to help immigrants like Cipriano, Pope enrolled at UW-Milwaukee and majored in political science on the pre-law track.<\/p>\n
Pope is set to graduate this May and has been accepted to Marquette Law School in the fall.<\/p>\n
Pope has thrived in his classes, and he especially appreciates his courses with professor Sara Benesh.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has given me the hardest exams, and because they\u2019ve been the most challenging, I\u2019ve learned the most from her,\u201d Pope said. \u201cShe emphasized the importance of (precedent) and the language of the law. I think it\u2019s given the me the most preparation for what to come ahead \u2013 because I\u2019ve still got to do the law school part.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also enjoyed his classes with professor Paru Shah, who teaches about city politics and demographics.<\/p>\n
Though he did well at 51ÁÔÆæ, Pope was still nervous when it came time to apply to law school. He\u2019s older than the typical student and his work experience is in the service industry. He thought his varied background might help him be a better lawyer, but wasn\u2019t sure that law school admissions officers would feel the same.<\/p>\n
But they did, and Pope is preparing for his first semester as a law student. He hopes to focus on immigration or labor law \u2013 something that will help him help \u201cthe little guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He knows he\u2019ll face opposition, especially because immigration can be a controversial issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not getting into this to facilitate illegality,\u201d Pope said firmly. \u201cI\u2019m getting into this to try and facilitate an easier legality. \u2026 You need to feed your family and you can get across (the border) and get that food within a week without<\/p>\n
following the (immigration) process, or you can follow the process and you don\u2019t know how long it\u2019s going to take. I\u2019m trying to do this so that the people who do want to work are rewarded for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
It might make all the difference for the Ciprianos of the world.<\/p>\n