Olga Pena
Ballard Rosenberg Golper and Savitt
"Life is a collection of learning opportunities. No time is wasted if you can take something from it."
Career Roadmap
Olga's work combines: Law, Writing, and Problem Solving
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Hanna High School, Brownsville, TX
Bachelor's Degree
History and Spanish
Texas A&M University
Graduate Degree
Curriculum & Instruction
Texas A&M University
Doctorate
Juris Doctor
University of Southern California
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be an Attorney:
Bachelor's Degree: History and Spanish
Graduate Degree: Curriculum & Instruction
Doctorate: Juris Doctor
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
Being accidentally born in the U.S. because my pregnant mom was visiting her mom in the U.S., became sick, and could not travel back to Mexico where she and my dad were living after they were married.
2.
Choosing to leave my hometown for a university with a veterinary school track that was seven hours away.
3.
Choosing to change my major from biomedical science to a double major in history and Spanish when I determined that the way my brain works was better suited for the liberal arts.
4.
Choosing to obtain my master's degree while teaching high school full-time.
5.
Inviting a law school recruiter to talk to my AVID students.
6.
Challenging myself to take the LSAT without paying for a class and then only applying to two law schools. If I could get into school on my own, I knew I could succeed.
7.
Struggling for years until receiving a very late diagnosis of ADHD.
8.
Following a life path that has brought me across the country from my family. I struggle with being far away from them.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
I can't do this with ADHD.
How I responded:
It is a struggle to manage time due to my ADHD. To help overcome this, I used resources around me like setting alarms and using a planner. This helps stay on track with time.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
My parents were both born in Mexico, and I grew up in a border town.
My parents could not pay for any of my higher education, so I had to earn grants and scholarships and work part-time through college.
My mom has a bachelor's degree in teaching at our local community college, but she did not know how to navigate the process of leaving my hometown to go to college. No one I knew had a law degree.
I was diagnosed very late in life with ADHD after a long struggle.