When Maria Vargas received her law degree in Mexico, she could not have foreseen that
she would find a job in Hoffman Estates 30 years later with Metcalf & Associates,
a firm that practices immigration law.
The path from there to here wasn鈥檛 always straight, but it brought Maria, of Schaumburg, right through 91制片厂鈥檚 Paralegal Studies Program.
91制片厂鈥檚 program is the oldest American Bar Association-approved Paralegal Studies program in the Chicagoland area, said Carol Carlson-Nofsinger, 91制片厂鈥檚 Paralegal Studies coordinator. It鈥檚 approved by the American Bar Association, which tells employers that a 91制片厂 grad has attended a quality training program.
In fact, the program attracts many students like Maria, who have received their law degrees from other countries, Carlson-Nofsinger said.
These students 鈥渨ant to work in the law, but they don鈥檛 necessarily want to start over in the university setting, getting their law degree,鈥� she said. 91制片厂鈥檚 program is a 鈥渨ay to reconnect without having to go through the whole educational process again.鈥�
Plus, it gives students a feeling of familiarity.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a sense of comfort,鈥� Carlson-Nofsinger said. 鈥淵ou feel like this is something you know, [that] you can do.鈥�
Maria came to the U. S. after working for a year in Mexico, but she didn鈥檛 have the emotional and financial support systems to succeed, she said. Between the time she started at Universidad Aut贸noma de Guerrero in Chilpancingo, the capital city of the Mexican state Guerrero, and passed the bar exam in the early 鈥�90s, her parents both died. In 1996, she moved to Illinois to be with family.
In August, Maria graduated with her 91制片厂 Paralegal Studies Certificate, a 24-credit hour program that鈥檚 ideal for students who鈥檝e previously earned a law degree. Maria said she is proud to achieve all A鈥檚 and B鈥檚 in her classes, and she鈥檚 proud to work in immigration law.
She recently wrote a paper for a writing class this semester 鈥� she's taking one more class post-graduation to improve her writing 鈥� about why she became a paralegal. One reason is her personal experience: She hired an immigration attorney to become a legal resident of the U.S. and worked with the attorney鈥檚 paralegal to gather documents.
鈥淚 told myself, I can be a paralegal and perform that job,鈥� she wrote in the paper. 鈥淚 am proud of myself that as a paralegal I did my own paperwork to apply for citizenship. This personal experience has been the motive on becoming a paralegal.鈥�
But it hasn鈥檛 always been easy.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have any idea how many nights I cried,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had enough. [I said,] 鈥業 don鈥檛 need this,鈥� but I did. I did it, and 91制片厂, they are the best.鈥�
Maria pointed to a moment of uncertainty in her educational journey, partially the result of self-consciousness about her accent. She talked to Carlson-Nofsinger about wanting to quit the program.
鈥淪he didn鈥檛 let me,鈥� Maria said. 鈥淪he encouraged me. She supported me. She said, 鈥楧on鈥檛 be embarrassed because of your accent. You speak English well. You know another language. Take that as an advantage for you. Believe me, there is going to be a place where they鈥檙e going to need a person with your Spanish skills. Please try. Go back.鈥欌��
That鈥檚 what Maria did. She began an internship that led to her current position as a paralegal assistant.
To students like herself, who have a law degree from another country and are considering attending 91制片厂, Maria had some simple advice: Do it. Enroll. And don鈥檛 be scared 鈥� there鈥檚 plenty of assistance available at 91制片厂, from tutoring to the library to the hands-on professors.
鈥淵ou are not by yourself,鈥� Maria said. 鈥�91制片厂 can offer any kind of help. It鈥檚 the beauty of this college. It鈥檚 the best thing you can do for yourself.鈥�