Career Path Of A Paralegal At Legal Services Company
Stephanie, a UCLA history graduate, initially pursued law-related fellowships during their final year of undergraduate study, applying to "a UCLA law fellows program" but ultimately being unsuccessful due to late application. This experience led to their current role as a paralegal, and Stephanie now mentors UCLA alumni, sharing knowledge of such programs to help others avoid similar setbacks.
Career Exploration, Job Search, Overcoming Challenges, Resilience, Networking
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Stephanie Henriquez
Paralegal
Legal Services Company
UCLA: 2018
N/A
History, Art History
Law
Legal
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Stephanie pursued a history major in college, which is a common background for paralegals.
2. She applied for law school fellowships and internships during her final year of college, highlighting the importance of early exploration.
3. She emphasizes the value of networking and mentorship, as her later awareness of relevant programs allowed her to help other students avoid similar missed opportunities.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Did you have any internships or jobs before your current role?
Currently, when I was an undergrad at UCLA, I majored in history. As far as my career now, I am a paralegal. To get here, I applied for a lot of law school fellowships and internships as an undergrad.
Unfortunately, I didn't get into the one I applied to in my last year. That's when I finally decided I potentially wanted to pursue law, so it was my final year. That was my first attempt to seek out programs at UCLA.
The one I applied to was a UCLA Law Fellows program. I wasn't accepted, and I couldn't apply for other fellowships I learned about through friends because it was my last year. I was working at UCLA, but in a dining hall, which was totally different from what I was pursuing.
That was my undergrad experience. I wasn't part of an organization that introduced me to these materials. It was a little late for me to pursue them, as it was my final year at UCLA.
Obviously, I know about them now. I was a UCLA alumni mentor, so I reach out to students to let them know about these programs that I didn't know about until later in my undergraduate years.