Valerie Garcia is focused on law and bodybuilding

As Valerie Garcia (JD ‘25) heads toward her final year of law school, she won’t just be preparing to take the bar exam. This spring, she’ll be preparing for her first foray into the competitive world of female bodybuilding.

“I'm a firm believer that we need to take care, not just of our brains, but of our bodies,” said Valerie, who goes to the gym five to six times per week and follows a strict diet in order to build muscle and burn fat. Her passion for bodybuilding sprang from the months stuck at home during the 2020 lockdown when, unable to go to the gym, she turned to social media as an outlet. That’s when she stumbled on the world of female bodybuilding, and her relationship to the gym changed.

“I know that a lot of women want to go to the gym to be skinny, but for me I was fascinated by female bodybuilders’ bodies and how strong they looked,” she said. “From then on, I wanted to see what I would look like if I was the best version of myself.”

During that time, something else began to shift, too. Valerie began to imagine a life beyond California. Born in San Diego, and raised most of her life in Tijuana, Mexico, she was accustomed to living in richly diverse areas. But while working as a paralegal in her hometown and applying for law schools, living in the Midwest started to become a consideration in part for economic reasons. That’s when she found The University of Cincinnati College of Law.

“I realized I could have a better quality of life in the Midwest. And I liked that Cincy Law had a lot of clinics pertaining to criminal justice, as well as scholarship opportunities,” she said.  “When I saw that the bar passing rate was over 80%, I felt confident about my decision.”

Learn more about Valerie’s journey to Cincinnati Law and how she balances law school with bodybuilding in her profile story  “Breaking the Mold: How Valerie Garcia is Pushing Limits in Law and Bodybuilding”.