How Excelsior ALC Member Chris Arima Redefines Inspiration

Chris Arima has built a career that, on paper, reads like a list of accomplishments. He is an attorney practicing complex civil litigation in California, a former prosecutor, a military veteran who served as an Arabic linguist, and a member of the Excelsior University Alumni Leadership Council.

But he doesn’t see himself as an inspiration.

“I don’t inspire people,” he says plainly. “I actually think it’s the reverse. I’m inspired every day by meeting these people, meeting these young kids, meeting these students, meeting these moms, parents, daughters, uncles, aunts, people that are going through so much in their life.”

That mindset has followed Arima throughout his legal career. His path hasn’t been about recognition; it’s been about moving forward, one step at a time.

Wanting to Be More

Arima grew up living in rural Arkansas and Texas. When he was 11 years old, his father died in a car accident—a collision that also left Arima seriously injured.

By his early teens, he was working to help support his family.

“I was in speech therapy while working to keep the money,” he recalls, explaining that by 13, he was working as a dishwasher and waiter, trying to help his family escape foreclosure during the 2008 financial crisis.

School wasn’t easy, but he stayed focused. “I drove an hour and a half to high school each way,” Arima says. “And I always wanted to be more. I wanted education. I wanted to challenge my brain.”

But when he first tried college, it didn’t go as planned. “I failed when I went to college. It was so hard, and I think that I was almost, like, burnt out.”

After about a year, Arima joined the military in 2013. What started as a general enlistment in the Navy quickly turned into something more specialized when he showed a talent for language. He trained as an Arabic linguist and was deployed to Iraq and Syria supporting intelligence operations.

While deployed, he also returned to school.

Arima enrolled at Excelsior University and worked toward his Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts during long, demanding shifts. He recalls studying while on active counter-ISIS operations: “We’d be clearing ops in Mosul, and then I’d go down into the basement and be studying my Excelsior books and submitting essays at midnight. And then, I’d sleep in the shower stall for two to three hours, and I’d be back on ops. And that’s how I completed my degree [in 2018].”

A Seat at the Table

After leaving the military, Arima enrolled in law school at Syracuse University. His decision was shaped by what he saw during his service.

“You’d have these rooms where decisions are being made. And everywhere was a Juris Doctor; there’s a lawyer in all of these rooms,” he says. “And I wanted to be in that room. I wanted to be a part of that decision-making process.”

Arima spent time working as an attorney in New York City right out of law school, but when his wife got pregnant, they decided it was too difficult to stay in the city to raise a child and follow their legal dreams. They decided to cross the country. Today, Arima is an attorney specializing in civil litigation in the Bay Area, where his wife is also an attorney. He handles cases involving employment discrimination, personal injury, and medical malpractice, and his work focuses on representing individuals who have been harmed.

“At the end of the day, you get to solve problems, and I think that that’s a very privileged place to be, and I’m glad that I’m doing it,” he says.

Arima also spent time working as a public defender at the Law Offices of the Public Defender of New Mexico, where he saw firsthand how complex and personal the legal system can be. “The law is inherently a human experiment. It is inherently human. It is a study and an attempt of human organization, of how we organize our society, how we organize our interpersonal relationships,” he explains.

Learning to Listen

One skill that has benefited Arima throughout his legal career is listening. It’s an important part of effective communication, he says, and therefore of being an effective attorney.

“You have to be a good listener when you’re a prosecutor or a public defender,” he says. “If you really listen, then you’ll be able to feel what that person is feeling and really understand what they’re talking about.”

That approach has shaped his work both in and out of the courtroom. Arima has taught courses in criminal justice and constitutional law, and for the past three years, he has been a mock-trial coach for the Los Lunas High School debate team in Los Lunas, New Mexico, where he taught them about advocacy, rules of evidence, courtroom tactics, and oral argument, but also the value of listening and empathy.

“Listening is the road to empathy,” he explains. “And all the best attorneys also have that skill of empathy. I think what makes you good at whatever you do is just being able to be empathetic.”

Reembolsar

Arima has stayed connected to Excelsior after earning his degree. In 2023, he joined the Alumni Leadership Council and is a liaison to the Legacy and Engagement Committee, where he routinely communicates with and advocates for Excelsior alumni of all backgrounds. “I’ve been given access and opportunities that I otherwise would not have been provided had it not been for my opportunities in higher education.”

Through his role on the Alumni Leadership Council, he has met Excelsior graduates with stories similar to his own—people balancing work, family, and school while trying to build something better. “I think that there’s a common thread of grit [among Excelsior alumni] that I think is just so uniquely American in a positive way, that there’s people born in various circumstances that face obstacles, challenge, and oftentimes they fail,” he says. “But those are really interesting stories of people that were faced with failure, accepted it, and then were like, ‘Okay, what’s the next step? How do I continue this?’”

Arima adds, “Meeting so many interesting individuals is my favorite part. I often find that they want to come back; they want to continue their education. I’ve been really privileged to be a part of that process.”

Redefining Inspiration

Even with everything he’s accomplished, Arima still pushes back on being called inspirational.

“I think that sometimes we use the word ‘inspiring,’ and oftentimes what we’re really trying to say is part of your story lives in me,” he explains.

He points to moments like helping a student find her voice in writing, not by telling her what to say, but by creating space for her to discover it herself. It was a proud moment for Arima, being able to help a student succeed, but a moment he doesn’t want credit for. “I think it was just giving her the opportunity and space to listen and let her discover [her voice],” he says.

Arima’s story isn’t one of easy success or a straight path forward. It’s a story of setbacks, persistence, and steady progress. And while he may not admit it, his journey shows how far determination—and education—can take you.