I’ve known I wanted to be a lawyer since 1984. I had two small kids to raise, sporadic child support and an absent ex-husband. In 1978, I’d gotten a college degree but back then I didn’t take college very seriously. If I had a plan, it was to get married, have kids and be a “wife and mother.”My grades from college were terrible and I remember thinking that if I had to go back and start over again with another college degree, I’d never be able to do it, so in 1989 I got my first job as a legal secretary. I tried to get into law school, but because of my grades, got turned down. In 1991 I became a paralegal and in 1993, I started going to evening classes at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) in College Park, Maryland. I finished my second college degree in Legal Studies in 1994. This time my grades were great.I tried to get into law school and once again, got turned down. By this time, I was managing law firms and working as a paralegal in Rockville, Maryland. I worked at small firms so I could learn from my work. I did legal research, wrote legal papers and learned how a law office works. It was a great part of my education and has helped me be a better lawyer.I went back to school and in 1998 I got a Master’s Degree in Administration from UMUC, again with great grades. Now I was sure I’d get into law school. I applied, and again I got turned down. I was about to give up altogether when I met an alumnus from the University of Baltimore School of Law. With his help I was accepted in 1998. During law school, I kept working for Rockville lawyers as a law clerk. I graduated in 2001 and the following year was admitted to the Maryland Bar.I started my practice, part-time out of my spare bedroom, while working as a contract law clerk at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Before long, I was too busy with my practice to work part-time. I found an office and worked as a sole practitioner until May of 2003 when I went to work with at a law firm in Chevy Chase, Maryland. I re-established my solo practice in August 2004 and have been in my own practice since then. I’ve worked long and hard to become a lawyer and I’m thankful every day for being able to do the work I do.