Nina Panugaling
Assistant Paralegal
Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
I had my dream career in mind before I graduated high school.
I started working to help pay my way through community college.
I found a great paying job... just not in the field I wanted to work in (finance / real estate).
Lost that job due to layoff, then bounced from job-to-job.
Stabilized myself within a company that offered tuition reimbursement.
Attended and graduated from ASU in May 2016 with a BS in Justice Studies and a Minor in Business.
Realized that I outgrew my current job and decided to search for a new one.
Landed my current job that coincidentally is in the field my dream career is in (immigration law).
Education
High School
Mt. Diablo High School
Mt. Diablo High School
Career
Assistant Paralegal
Facilitates immigration legal services.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Law
Business
Learning / Being Challenged
Day to Day
While there are different visa types in business immigration, my team is primarily focused on NIVs (non-immigrant visas). So most of my workload involves preparing petitions to extend statuses of H-1B and H-4 visa holders; however, I occasionally prepare petitions for F-1 visas. Throughout the day, I answer questions from our client's foreign national employees, which may vary from status updates of their pending petitions to questions about international travel, based on firm polices.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for professionals
Hone in on where you see yourself in your new career. Ask yourself questions like, "What field do I want to work in?", "What capacity do I want to be involved in within this field?", or "What (or how much) responsibilities do I want? -- Am I a 'boots on the ground' worker or do I want to supervise others?" If you know the answers to most of these questions, researching your next career will be much more easier.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"Law school is expensive."
Challenges I Overcame
Financial
First-Generation Immigrant
Lack of focus
