Going to law school has been a dream of mine since I was in high school. I would have never imagined that I would actually find myself as a law student in my mid-30s, but here I am, halfway through my first year. In preparation for law school, I first received my Associate in Paralegal Studies and obtained my first paralegal job at the age of 19. I am now in my 16th year of this career. Throughout my career, I have worked in several areas of law, such as bankruptcy, family law, and personal injury. For half of my career I worked in civil litigation as a trial and litigation paralegal, which has been an amazing experience. However, as of January 2025, I began working in public interest as a paralegal for my county's non profit legal aid organization. I feel I am finally home. I do not know if it is an inherent duty as a first generation American and daughter of two hard working immigrants who arrived here with little to nothing, but I feel I have a duty to give back to the community of people who feel most unheard, unseen, and just out of reach of the arms of justice. I can recall a few times throughout my career where I encountered clients who honestly thought they could not have justice or a day in Court simply because of their legal or financial status. In my current role, I mainly assist with preparation of Restraining Orders for victims of domestic violence and elder abuse, as well as interpret for Spanish speaking clients during our free legal aid clinic hours. I feel so fulfilled knowing that I was able to help bring some peace of mind, even if it was just by helping them communicate their worries with an attorney. I look forward to being able to represent these members of our communities once I pass the bar. I believe that I can help bridge the gap and help bring justice to those who think they are not able to have it simply because of where they were born or the financial status that they are in. With the skills I have learned throughout my journey and my drive and desire to advocate for those in need, I feel that I can make a meaningful impact to my local community. Your consideration is much appreciated. Thank you!

Law school can be hard on your mind, body, and soul. I often jokingly call myself a scholar because I have been in school my whole life. So, as a "career student", I can confidently say that law school is one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. I don't think I've felt so much stress before, and I am a parent! Being that law school is a bit of a sacrifice, it is important to maintain your mental and physical health to help with the stress that comes along with this education. I struggle with polycistic ovarian syndrome, which affects my hormones and metabolism. Body image and mental health are things that I have struggled with most of my life. During my first year of law school, I found that my knees were starting to hurt, along with feeling very stressed. I work full-time and attend school in the evenings three nights a week. I realized I was literally sitting for a minimum of 12 hours a day, plus several more hours of studying per week! Prior to law school, I did not have knee pain. Hoping to find some relief, I signed up for a gym membership to see if it would help me feel better as I was experiencing a lot of fatigue, both physically and mentally. I have found that lifting weights and light cardio has improved my overall outlook on life. I feel much more energetic and alert. I have also formed a study habit at the gym. During exam time, I like to use the treadmill and go over my notes or watch class videos. I sometimes do this with a classmate and have found it super helpful! Not only are we getting our steps in, but we are also actively working on memorizing things while we exercise. After a gym study session, I feel so much more confident. This is definetly a practice that I plan to continue doing until I graduate and a habit I reccomend for other law students. When you have so much on your plate with law school, it's so easy to forget about our health. That is why it is so important to make time during our week for exercise and health. When your mind and body feel unwell, you don't perform as well in school. During the first half of my second year, I fell off the gym wagon and I noticed that the stress seemed to comeback two-fold and I did not feel as great about myself. Not only that, but the knee pain returned. As I begin the next semester, I am doing my best to make sure I keep my gym routine as I felt better about things when I was going. Even if it's just for 45 minutes to an hour. Thank you for your consideration!

Going to law school has been a dream of mine since I was in high school. I would have never imagined that I'd find myself as a law student in my mid-30s, but here I am. Looking back on how I ended up here, I can’t help but think of my parents. My parents were born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States as teenagers. Both of them only made it to middle school before having to drop out to help support their families. In search of a better life, they came to the United States ready and willing to work any job. They eventually met at a quinceañera, got married, and a year later, I was born. The summer before my senior year of high school my mom was hired by a personal injury attorney to clean his home and office. I’d try to get out of going to work with my mom, but l soon found that I was growing curious about what was going on around the office that I was cleaning. There were days when you could sense the tension in the air, but then there were other days filled with celebration. I would hear the paralegals and attorneys shout with glee, “WE DID IT! OUR CLIENT IS GOING TO BE SO HAPPY!” One evening while throwing out the trash, I felt brave enough to ask one of the paralegals what everyone was excited about. She told me they had just won a big case for a client who was severely injured in an accident. I saw the happiness in her eyes when she spoke about how much this meant for their client. That was the first real moment when I thought about looking into a career as an attorney. As I returned to school for my senior year, I continued going to work with my mom in the evenings at the law office. In preparation for law school, I received my AS in Paralegal Studies and obtained my first paralegal job at the age of 19. I am now in my 16th year of this career. For the last 8 years, I have solely worked in personal injury law. I also received my BA in Business Administration. Recently, I had the honor of participating in my first trial; a wrongful death case. Our clients, the wife and children of the decedent, lived in Mexico. Their father came to the United States to find work to support their family. He was doing gardening and fieldwork. One unfortunate day, a distracted driver drove into the field that he was working in, struck him with his truck, and killed him. Throughout the five years that this case was being litigated, there was a lot of discovery and motions to jump over. Trial prep was very stressful. On the last day of the trial, I felt restless. What would the jury think? My boss called me and said, “We did it, Ellie. Ten million.” I jumped out of my seat and yelled with joy and disbelief. At that moment, I was reminded of when I was cleaning the law office with my mom. I now understood why they shouted with glee and happiness. I began to tear up in my office thinking about it and how if it were not for my mom taking me to clean that office, I wouldn't be here. I am very proud to be a daughter of immigrants, a first-generation American and college graduate. I look forward to one day serving my community as an attorney. Your consideration is much appreciated. Thank you.

Going to law school has been a dream of mine since I was in high school. I would have never imagined that I would actually find myself as a law student in my mid-30s, but here I am, halfway through my first year. In preparation for law school, I first received my Associate in Paralegal Studies and obtained my first paralegal job at the age of 19. I am now in my 15th year of this career. Throughout my career, I have worked in several areas of law, such as bankruptcy, family law, and personal injury. For the last 7 or 8 years I have solely worked in personal injury law, helping my fellow community members recover from accidents, injuries, and sometimes even the death of a loved one. I live in Ventura County, which is a lovely and diverse area of California. Because Ventura has a large agriculture industry, a large number of our clients are immigrant field and farm workers. Many of whom do not speak English and are undocumented. As of now, I plan to start my attorney career in personal injury law. I especially want to focus on helping my community members who are in lower-income communities and who do not speak English, as I have found that many people in those situations do not know that there is help for them. I want to help bridge the gap and build trust in our community. I recall a few years ago when a Spanish-speaking client expressed to me how grateful they were that we were helping him as he always thought attorneys, lawsuits, and court meant deportation or jail – which is not true. Another client once told me they thought that because they were “illegal”, they were not able to recover, even though they were injured and not at fault. Their words have stuck with me since. I was deeply saddened to hear this and to realize that many people believe this to be true. That is why I believe it is important to educate and inform our community members, no matter what their immigration status is. I am very proud to be a daughter of immigrants, a first-generation American, and a first-generation college graduate. I owe everything to the sacrifice my parents made. I believe that I can help bridge the gap and help bring justice to those who think they are not able to have it simply because of where they were born. Your consideration is much appreciated. Thank you!

I have been a non-traditional college student throughout all of my higher education experience. Even when I was young and living with my parents, I maintained a day job and attended college classes at night. This allowed me to have some independence while also helping my parents with household expenses. Eventually, I moved out, but I was still not able to go to traditional college as I needed to keep my day job. Years later, now in law school, I am so thankful that I was able to find a law school with evening classes. It's the only way I could attempt to reach my goal of one day becoming an attorney. Going to law school has been a dream of mine since I was in high school. I would have never imagined that I would find myself as a law student in my mid-30s, but here I am, beginning my second year of law school this fall. Thanks to the colleges that I attended that offered evening classes, I was able to take the steps I needed to get here. I first received my Associate in Paralegal Studies and obtained my first paralegal job at the age of 19. I then pursued a bachelors and was able to continue working as a paralegal during the day while attending classes in the evening. I am now in my 16th year of my paralegal career and proudly hold 2 college degrees. Being able to continue to work has immensely helped me in my legal journey. I am set to graduate law school in 2026 and will have 18 years of experience as a paralegal by that point. I feel extremely lucky to be able to come out of law school with a huge leg forward; all thanks to being able to go to school in the evenings while advancing my career. Throughout my career, I have worked in several areas of law, such as bankruptcy, family law, and personal injury. For the last 7 or 8 years I have solely worked in personal injury law, helping my fellow community members recover from accidents, injuries, and sometimes even the death of a loved one. Again, had I not been able to keep my job as a paralegal while going to college, I would not have had all of this experience. While non-traditional college has been a blessing, allowing me to keep a full-time job and keep a steady income, it also has its challenges. Time, for one, is limited. Juggling a full-time job and evening school is a lot to handle, especially law school. I have learned that you have to choose wisely where you will spend your time. There will be events and get-togethers that you miss, but it will be worth it in the end. As I go further in my law school journey, I have noticed that the sacrifices feel bigger, as most of my free time is spent studying and preparing for my classes. I have a small family of 6 made up of me, my significant other, my 11-year-old stepson, and our 3 kitties. Having to spend less time with them has brought its own sets of challenges, but as I said earlier, it's a sacrifice that will be worth it. Eventually, I will need to go part-time at work so that I can focus on preparing for the bar exam. I am trying to set money aside while I can, but it's difficult. Any financial help that I am able to get will make a difference. Your consideration is much appreciated.

Going to law school has been a dream of mine since I was in high school. I would have never imagined that I would actually find myself as a law student in my mid-30s, but here I am, halfway through my first year. In preparation for law school, I first received my Associate in Paralegal Studies and obtained my first paralegal job at the age of 19. I am now in my 15th year of this career. Throughout my career, I have worked in several areas of law, such as bankruptcy, family law, and personal injury. For the last 7 or 8 years I have solely worked in personal injury law, helping my fellow community members recover from accidents, injuries, and sometimes even the death of a loved one. I live in Ventura County, which is a lovely and diverse area of California. Because Ventura has a large agriculture industry, a large number of our clients are immigrant field and farm workers. Many of whom do not speak English and are undocumented. As of now, I plan to start my attorney career in personal injury law. I especially want to focus on helping my community members in lower-income communities who do not speak English, as I have found that many people in those situations do not know there is help for them. I want to help bridge the gap and build trust in our community. I recall a few years ago when a Spanish-speaking client expressed to me how grateful they were that we were helping him as he always thought attorneys, lawsuits, and court meant deportation or jail – which is not true. Another client once told me they thought that because they were “undocumented”, they would not be able to recover, even though they were injured and not at fault. Their words have stuck with me since. I was deeply saddened to hear this and to realize that many people believe this to be true. That is why I believe it is important to educate and inform our community members, no matter what their immigration status is. I am very proud to be a daughter of immigrants, a first-generation American, and a first-generation college graduate. I owe everything to the sacrifice my parents made. I believe that I can help bridge the gap and help bring justice to those who think they are not able to have it simply because of where they were born. Your consideration is much appreciated. Thank you!

Question 1: I am currently enrolled at The Colleges of Law in Ventura, CA. I began January 2023 as a "Spring Start", which is like an 0L year where we learn the basics, like case briefing and writing legal essays. I just finished my 1L year and will begin my 2L year this fall. Question 2: I am very fortunate to have begun my legal career very early on. A few weeks after graduating high school, I started a paralegal program. I graduated with my Associates in Paralegal Studies in 2008. I was hired at my first law firm around November of that year and have worked as a paralegal ever since. This year will be my 16th year in this career. For the last 8 years, I have solely worked in civil litigation and personal injury law at a Plaintiff's firm. I have learned so much here. I am currently in the middle of trial prep. Every day at work is an opportunity for me to learn about actual law practice. I know I have a great resource that many other law students have. I am not afraid to ask questions about how and why we do certain things. This is how I have learned and grown so much in my career. I don't just want to know how to do the work, I want to understand why we do things a certain way. Question 3: One of the most traumatic moments of my life was being kicked out of my home when I was 21. I learned of an affair my father had and that I had a half-sister. I confronted my parents about this. I grew up in a Pentecostal Christian home, so this did not align with that. My half-sister was only a year older than my younger sister. I was in college at the time and in between jobs. My mom, understandably so, did not like the idea of me wanting to meet or know my half-sister. My dad, ashamed, agreed with how my mom wanted the situation handled. I was told I could continue living with them if I didn't pursue a relationship with my half-sister or leave their home if I did. This broke me. My dad was my hero and this was very hurtful. I also did not want to leave my younger sister. I am six years older than her and we were also very close. However, I knew in my heart that it was wrong to ask that of me. I boldly told them I would find a place to live and leave as soon as I could, which I did by the end of the week. I don't know how I did it, how I survived, but I did. Eventually, I took my younger sister to meet our half-sister. It was a wonderful moment. It took a few years to repair the relationship with my parents, but we are now all on good terms. I am proud of my decision and although it was very hurtful, we now have another sister in our family and as of last year, our first nephew! I learned a lot about forgiveness throughout that experience as well as having faith in yourself and in God that things will work out. I went many months getting groceries from food pantries, and many times my pet cat ate better than I did, but I would not be the person I am today had I not gone through all of that. Question 4: Two causes I would like to be more involved with are 1) helping BIPOC youth interested in legal careers get started by providing resources, scholarships, and a network of people that they can rely on for help and 2) from my own experience with my partner, I would love to help father's who are struggling with custody issues, who want to be a part of their children's lives, with free or low-cost family law help. There is such a bias in family law against fathers. I feel some dads are disadvantaged when they have a toxic situation with their children's mother. I have seen with my own eyes how unfair the family law system can be. I believe that due to this, many good and loving fathers simply give up or feel hopeless and thus, don't bother fighting for time with their kids. Thank you for your consideration and time.

Becoming an attorney has been a dream of mine since I was in high school. My legal journey began when I was a teenager going with my mom to clean homes and offices during the summers, including a law office. I would have never imagined that I would find myself as a law student in my mid-30s, but here I am, halfway through my first year. In preparation for law school, I received my Associate in Paralegal Studies and obtained my first paralegal job at 19. I am now in my 15th year of this career. Throughout my career, I have worked in several areas of law, such as bankruptcy, family law, and personal injury. For the last 7 or 8 years I have solely worked in personal injury law, helping my fellow community members recover from accidents, injuries, and sometimes even the death of a loved one. I live in Ventura County, which is a lovely and diverse area of California. Because Ventura has a large agriculture industry, a large portion of our clients are immigrant field and farm workers. Many of whom do not speak English and are undocumented. As of now, I plan to start my attorney career in personal injury law. I especially want to focus on helping my community members who are lower income and who do not speak English, as I have found that many people in those situations do not know that there is help for them. I want to help bridge the gap and build trust in our community. A few years ago, I recall a Spanish-speaking client expressing to me how grateful they were that we were helping him as he always thought attorneys, lawsuits, and court meant deportation or jail – which is not true. Another client once told me they thought that because they were “illegal”, they were not able to recover, even though they were injured and not at fault. Their words have stuck with me since. I was deeply saddened to hear this and to realize that many people believe this to be true. That is why I believe it is important to educate and inform our community members, no matter what their immigration status is or whether they speak English or Spanish. I am very proud to be a daughter of immigrants and to be a first-generation American and first-generation college graduate. I am also very proud to be able to help so many Latino/Hispanic families with their personal injury claims. I hope to better inform my fellow Latino/Hispanic community members by participating in local events, like Swamp Meet for Justice and legal clinics. I also hope that through education, I can help bring justice to those who may think they don’t qualify for it due to their immigration status. Your consideration is much appreciated.