Meet Melnia Cordis

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melnia Cordis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

MELNIA, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?

At the age of 10, I entered the sole residential boarding school, President’s College, located on the East Coast of Demerara, Guyana. It was my first time away from home, without family or friends. At 10, I was responsible for myself, and had to account for my actions or inactions and failures or omissions. For me, the goal was to learn and excel but I was surrounded by extremely brilliant and innovative students, and it was easy to get lost.
At that age I decided I will do my best, not measuring myself against the others but staying focused on completing my education and moving on to university, knowing that despite what the grades say, I was just as good as they were. It was with this attitude that I was able to successfully navigate high school and draw on those skills as I continued my life’s journey. It has always kept me steadfast.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I currently act as Principal Attorney at my boutique law firm, Melnia Cordis Law PC, where our goal is to provide efficient legal services to meet our client needs, the first time. I am often excited to share my journey as an immigrant with my clients, as they navigate their way to US citizenship, acquire a home and deal with life meanderings – marriage, divorce, child custody, death of a parent, spouse of sibling. This February marks twenty-two years since my arrival to these shores. As a migrant, I had to start over. To practice as an attorney in New York, I had to take additional educational courses to sit for the bar exam. During this time, my passport and study materials were taken from me by my domestic partner and I was forced to move and make several personal changes in order to survive. Looking back, this experience reinforced my commitment to succeed and to help immigrants successfully navigate the difficulties of building a life in the United States of America.
This year is especially important to me, as I continue to forge ahead as an entrepreneur in Brooklyn, New York. In December 2024, I graduated from the illustrious SBA Thrive program for Emerging Leaders. I am excited about the new prospects that this cohort bestowed upon me and the unforeseen opportunities ahead. I continue to strive for excellence and educate myself to be better than I was yesterday.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Three important qualities, skills or area of knowledge that impacted my journey are:
1. My sojourn at President College. It thought me resiliency and self-confidence.
2. My Hugh Wooding admission in 1997 as part of the Guyanese student contingent. This taught me to never give up, despite how bleak things may appear.
3. My five years as an attorney at the Georgetown Legal Aid Clinic, gave me the exposure in all areas of law and courtroom etiquette, and fostered my love for service. Today, I continue to practice law in the service of clients.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

My primary challenge in business is income generation. As a small business, we are constantly faced with financial shortages, due largely in part to low clientele and non-paying or slow paying clientele. I am currently exploring opportunities with lenders to fund the cost of some of the services we provide. Additionally, we are seeking to get some contracts with the State of New York or the City of New York, in our capacity as a W/MBE. We are also looking to partner with other W/MBEs to pursue larger contracts.

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