From Argentina to Google
I moved from Argentina to San Francisco in 1998. Since I have always worked in the legal field I decided to apply my experience here in the US.
My knowledge of American law was very limited, and I did not want to go to law school. I researched and found the Paralegal Studies program at San Francisco State University and discovered that it had everything that I was looking for at a reasonable price.
The classes were excellent and the teachers were very knowledgeable. My English was not very good at the beginning of the program, so in addition to my work and classes, I spent several hours every week doing my homework and preparing presentations.
It took me a year and a half to complete the program, and on the same day that I graduated I was offered a paralegal position at Baker & McKenzie, where I worked from 2000 to 2007.
In 2007 I came to Google, where I'm still working as an international corporate paralegal applying everything I learned in the Paralegal Studies program at San Francisco State University. I have always wanted to work in international law, so the fact that I can speak a second language (in my case Spanish) helped me to market myself and find a job in that field.
One of the most valuable things that I am still enjoying from the Program is the friendships that I developed with several of my classmates. We get together every couple of months to catch up with our lives and to exchange experiences in our respective offices. Also, it's a great networking tool that has helped several of us to find jobs.
-Submitted by Angie Lipschuetz, Associate Dean, College of Extended Learning, San Francisco State University