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Mom shares emotional reaction to learning she passed bar exam on 1st try

"Hard work and determination pay off," Rhiannah Gordon told "GMA."

Mom shares emotional reaction to learning she passed bar exam on 1st try
Courtesy Rhiannah Gordon
November 12, 2024, 11:42 AM

A California mom couldn't help but burst into tears when she learned she had passed her bar exam on the first try.

Rhiannah Gordon shared her and her two kids' emotional reactions to the news in a TikTok video post that has since picked up over 24 million views since Nov. 9.

Rhiannah Gordon shared a viral TikTok video of her and her children’s reactions when they learned she had passed the bar exam on her first try.
Courtesy Rhiannah Gordon

Gordon, who graduated law school in May and took the bar exam in July, told "Good Morning America" her journey from student to licensed lawyer wasn't a solo journey but a shared one with her family.

Rhiannah Gordon is a mom of two kids — son Flinn and daughter Rhiley seen here in a graduation photo.
Courtesy Rhiannah Gordon

"I posted videos over the years of times when the kids attended classes with me, or me studying at their sporting events or the trudge of studying for the bar. So it was natural to share the results of years of the family's investment into law school and the bar," Gordon wrote in an email.

Gordon learned on Nov. 8 that she had passed the California bar exam on her first try as her daughter Rhiley, 10, and son Flinn, 12, looked on. After they learned the exam result, the family shared a heartfelt and tearful group hug.

Rhiannah Gordon shared a viral TikTok video of her and her children’s reactions when they learned she had passed the bar exam on her first try.
Courtesy Rhiannah Gordon

Gordon said by sharing her video, she wants to show others, especially fellow mothers and single parents, that doing hard things successfully is possible and to encourage more diverse students to pursue a legal career.

"Hard work and determination pay off. I worked relentlessly over the last four years -- studying for the LSAT, applying to law school, getting accepted, doing reading and homework, writing essays, while also cooking dinner, going to practice and games, doing hair, making sure my kids were brushing their teeth every night. And all the time we spent and the sacrifices we made as a family paid off," the mom of two wrote.

Gordon said she is already working in criminal law in her home city of Sacramento, California.

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