Indera DeMine is determined to change the narrative of what it means to be an immigrant. DeMine came to the U.S. from Guyana at 15 in pursuit of the “American Dream,” she says. She completed high school at 17, graduated college at 20 and became a lawyer at 24.

“When I first started out in my career, I was very aware of all of the things that made me different from my colleagues and I was embarrassed by them,” DeMine says. “I am a woman, a minority, an immigrant …” She adds: “I heard, ‘where are you from,’ so many times that I had rehearsed what to say.”

But she learned to make her differences stand out in a good way and encourages others to do the same with theirs.

“Find the things that separate you from the pack and highlight them. Be uniquely you when others try to fit in and watch how the universe responds,” DeMine says.

DeMine advocates for immigration reform on state and national levels. She’s been named a Top 10 Immigration Law Attorney in Florida by the American Jurist Institute, among other accolades, and hopes to share positive stories of immigrants in Southwest Florida as a member of The News-Press Young Professional Advisory Board.

In her spare time, DeMine enjoys traveling and has visited places around the world. She and her husband, attorney Thomas DeMine, have one son. And they are into craft beer.