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Paralegal Studies

North Carolina Paralegal Association's 2008 Student Scholarship Essay Competition

“I Have Chosen to be a Paralegal….”

by Kathy Eichenbrenner
2nd Place Winner

I have chosen to become a paralegal!  I am 57 years old; I will graduate from the paralegal program in which I am enrolled on my 58th birthday March 2, 2008.

I graduated from college in 1971 with a B.A. degree in mathematics education.  I taught secondary mathematics for one year, but did not enjoy classroom teaching.  I saw an advertisement for a computer program trainee at a company in my hometown, took the aptitude test, and instantaneously became a computer programmer.  I had a 20 year successful career as a computer programmer/software engineer (as we later came to be called).  In 1992, just a few months short of my twentieth anniversary with the company, I was laid off due to “downsizing”.  In just a few months, I was hired by another software company and in 2002, was laid off again due to a corporate buyout.  I was unable to find employment due to the decline of the information technology industry in the United States.  For a year, I worked diligently at part-time jobs, sometimes going from one to another to another in a single day.  Information technology changes so fast, and at the time, the job market for software engineers was so tight, that I was forced to take a job making half of what I made as a software engineer and doing something that I really did not enjoy.  At the present time, I work in inventory control and spend all of my workdays trying to keep track of our corporation’s assets, only to discover at the end of the day that it really is an impossible job.  I find this very frustrating, unsettling, and useless.  I would like to go home at the end of the day feeling as though I have done something worthwhile, or solved a problem, or made a difference to someone. 
In August of this year, my present company was sold.  I found myself at another crossroads in life as I was told that I was losing my job yet again, for the third time.  To myself I said, “I must find something to do that I enjoy for the rest of my working years”.  I decided to take control of my destiny, instead of being controlled by it.

I must say that my favorite TV shows are “Law and Order” and “CSI”.  I have been known to watch five hours of “Law and Order” straight on more than one occasion.  I have always been intrigued by the legal system.  In my idealistic mind, I always want justice to prevail, and even though I know it always does not, I know that America does the best job of any nation in the world of pursuing justice for all.

Around the time I found out I was losing my job yet again, I went to lunch with one of my coworkers.  I picked up a “Jobfinder” magazine which usually ads for blue collar jobs.  However, my eye went to an ad that said “Get your paralegal degree in 15 weeks”.  The ad was from one of the most respectable universities in the nation, and I immediately knew that I was going to pursue this.  It was like destiny reached out and touched me.  I knew that getting a paralegal certificate in 15 weeks would be quite a challenge.  After all, I had not studied for anything since 1971!  And I have a full-time job and a household to run.  But I knew that I could do anything for 15 weeks, especially pursue something that I was passionate about. 

I have just completed the 15-week course of study and am proud to say that I finished with an A, having made only one B on any test or paper that I turned in.  In 15 short weeks, I have learned to write pleadings, discoveries, and motions; learned more legal terminology than the lawyer around the corner; learned how structured sentencing works in criminal law, and studied a multitude of other intricacies and concepts in the legal system.  In 15 weeks, I have become educated, trained, and prepared to launch a new career!  And launch a new career is what I intend to do.  While many people my age are retiring, I am starting fresh on a new adventure as a paralegal, and can hardly wait to find myself in the courtroom with my attorney.

I have chosen to be a paralegal…