Ello world of whatever kind of folks have been reading this!
If i-Poly faculty, then proceed. If stranger/stalker, I guess you may also proceed...Not like I can stop you.
The i-Poly journey has come to screeching halt. I'm unsure of what really happened, one day I was sitting in class trying to calculate the exact minutes left of the school year then the next thing I knew I was sporting my graduation gown as pajamas and wondering where all those minutes went. I'm unsure of what I've really learned from i-Poly; grit, confidence, how to not to cross your legs during powerpoint presentations...I'm unsure what will become of the relationships I've made with the folks here. One things is certain though. I am ready to graduate.
Shout outs:
-To the only woman who says it how it is: Ms. Edwards. You're the reason I'm going in as a snarky English major.
-To the woman who taught me leadership and confidence is an ability, not a trait: Sara B. You inspire.
-To my partner in crime who stuck with me since I was fresh i-Poly meat: Aralia G. Though our periods may now get off the same cycle, our mentality never will.
-To the rebel who everyone thinks is an angel: Bel S. I know the truth. And I like it.
-To the rest of you hooligans: It hasn't been a pleasure, but an experience nonetheless. I learned something from all of you and I know (for the most part) each of you will be successful in your endeavors. I mean what I say and I say what I mean. I truly wish each of you well.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Blog 23: Final Lesson Reflection
1. I am most proud of the fact that when I was pushed out of my comfort zone (which was for basically all 9 months of mentorship), I persevered through the difficult times and actually gained experience that I can now put forward towards using in my future.
2.
a) I would give myself an AE - for my block presentation.
b) I would give myself an AE for my overall presentation.
3. What worked for my senior project was my activity. People contributed, were actually engaged, respectful and wonderful presenters. They had a lot of fun with the activity and I felt really did well in understanding my debrief.
4. I probably wouldn't have had seating charts. The second assigned seating was announced as they walked through the door I heard a massive groan of unhappiness and its never good to start things out on a bad note- Especially hour long presentations.
5. I have found that in doing a project highly related to customer service, I have had the opportunity to gain exceptional customer service skills. This has made me far more confident about myself and what attributes I have to offer to any business or work place of my choice. Specifically, I enjoyed the individual components because I felt that I had the most freedom and flexibility to choose which path I wanted to specialize in. By choosing to take college classes for both of my independent components, I felt the most dedicated. First I took a public speaking class (Public Address 101) because I was having the most difficulty with this in my mentorship. I spent countless hours (well not really countless, I actually counted every single hour on my Mentorship Hour Log! ) not only in the class room, but creating speeches, memorizing lectures and doing homework to prepare me for my public speeches. I felt that because students just used their independent component to do more hours for mentorship, taking a college class in comparison was a far more difficult endeavor (also far more rewarding.) I also took a Psychology class, of in which I am currently attending today. Psychology 101 has given my so much research that I was able to use to help create the information I spoke about during my final lesson plan, as well as the fact that I used my class textbook as one of my most credible sources. In conclusion, I felt that I have dedicated myself far more than other students to this project. I read complete books and extremely timely manners just so that I could get AE's on research checks, even though that was never even an option. I never missed any senior project assignments, and I have always demonstrated punctuality in every senior project class as well as staying on task. My written blogs have always been on time and reflective of the time and effort I put into this project, and in total my final presentation demonstrated just how passionately I have devoted myself into making this project a success. I only hope my final grade is reflective of the entirety of my effort and perseverance.
2.
a) I would give myself an AE - for my block presentation.
b) I would give myself an AE for my overall presentation.
3. What worked for my senior project was my activity. People contributed, were actually engaged, respectful and wonderful presenters. They had a lot of fun with the activity and I felt really did well in understanding my debrief.
4. I probably wouldn't have had seating charts. The second assigned seating was announced as they walked through the door I heard a massive groan of unhappiness and its never good to start things out on a bad note- Especially hour long presentations.
5. I have found that in doing a project highly related to customer service, I have had the opportunity to gain exceptional customer service skills. This has made me far more confident about myself and what attributes I have to offer to any business or work place of my choice. Specifically, I enjoyed the individual components because I felt that I had the most freedom and flexibility to choose which path I wanted to specialize in. By choosing to take college classes for both of my independent components, I felt the most dedicated. First I took a public speaking class (Public Address 101) because I was having the most difficulty with this in my mentorship. I spent countless hours (well not really countless, I actually counted every single hour on my Mentorship Hour Log! ) not only in the class room, but creating speeches, memorizing lectures and doing homework to prepare me for my public speeches. I felt that because students just used their independent component to do more hours for mentorship, taking a college class in comparison was a far more difficult endeavor (also far more rewarding.) I also took a Psychology class, of in which I am currently attending today. Psychology 101 has given my so much research that I was able to use to help create the information I spoke about during my final lesson plan, as well as the fact that I used my class textbook as one of my most credible sources. In conclusion, I felt that I have dedicated myself far more than other students to this project. I read complete books and extremely timely manners just so that I could get AE's on research checks, even though that was never even an option. I never missed any senior project assignments, and I have always demonstrated punctuality in every senior project class as well as staying on task. My written blogs have always been on time and reflective of the time and effort I put into this project, and in total my final presentation demonstrated just how passionately I have devoted myself into making this project a success. I only hope my final grade is reflective of the entirety of my effort and perseverance.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Blog 22: Mentorship
Literal:
Completed
Lorena Jasso (626) 475 -9054
Law Office of Jaime Jasso
Interpretive:
The most important thing I have gained from this experience is customer service skills. It was something I was severely lacking in before, despite its necessity in the real world. This project has forced me to expand my horizons by meeting new people and interacting (through helping others) in ways I never knew were possible.
Applied:
Everything I have done has helped me answer my EQ. My mentorship in particular helped me create the answers for my EQ which was a bigger challenge than created the actual EQ. The EQ was pondered since Junior year and only finalized senior year through the guidance of the senior teachers who remained consistently present here.
Completed
Lorena Jasso (626) 475 -9054
Law Office of Jaime Jasso
Interpretive:
The most important thing I have gained from this experience is customer service skills. It was something I was severely lacking in before, despite its necessity in the real world. This project has forced me to expand my horizons by meeting new people and interacting (through helping others) in ways I never knew were possible.
Applied:
Everything I have done has helped me answer my EQ. My mentorship in particular helped me create the answers for my EQ which was a bigger challenge than created the actual EQ. The EQ was pondered since Junior year and only finalized senior year through the guidance of the senior teachers who remained consistently present here.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Blog 21: Exit Interview
1) My essential question is: What is the most significant factor in ensuring a client's confidence that the attorney will exert his/her best ability upon their immigration case?
Answer #1: The best way to ensure a clients confidence in their attorney is by having the client continuously staying physically and mentally involved in the construction of their case to emphasize the feeling of a team effort.
Answer #2: The most significant factor in ensuring a client's confidence is to truthfully keep the client well informed of the case progression.
Answer #3: The most important factor in in ensuring a client's confidence in their attorney is by having the attorney and their firm consistently represent authentic integrity.
My best answer is Answer #1 because I have learned that to ensure a client's confidence, that requires trust. The most important way to acquire trust is by not only staying involved in the process (which is similar to my answer 2), but feeling like the client is apart of a collaborative team (in which they never would have done if the attorney or firm didn't represent the same values as the client which includes my answer 3).
2) The process I took to arrive at my best answer was one gained through mentorship experience. I have noticed that the clients who kept in contact with our office are a symbol of pure confidence in not only the attorney, but in the attorney's ability to win their case. There is no correlation that I have noticed between the clients who keep in contact with the office and the success rates of their case, but there is a correlation between their attendance to the office and client's confidence.
3) Problems I faced were simple ones, though they couldn't be solved. The most important aspect about keeping in contact with the office is commuting here from wherever the client is located. Though the reasoning for our office location being in Pomona, California was basically due to the fact that the city is saturated in the demographic of people our office aims to attract, commuting for most client's have typically been a major problem because as illegal immigrants, most find unstable jobs that they have to work at most of the day and long hours through the night still making minimum wage. Minimum wage causes them to be forced into working unfair hours, making it difficult to take the time to visit our office with their families (because they have to accommodate their schedules as well). The solution we have uncovered is telephonic communication, even though it is not as strong as a bond due to it the fact that without speaking in person, it is very non-personal.
4) My most important source for answering my essential question was from a book titled: Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose it, Why People Demand it by James Kouzes and from my fourth interview in which the topics of credibility and trust were heavily discussed which assured my confidence in my best answer.
Answer #1: The best way to ensure a clients confidence in their attorney is by having the client continuously staying physically and mentally involved in the construction of their case to emphasize the feeling of a team effort.
Answer #2: The most significant factor in ensuring a client's confidence is to truthfully keep the client well informed of the case progression.
Answer #3: The most important factor in in ensuring a client's confidence in their attorney is by having the attorney and their firm consistently represent authentic integrity.
My best answer is Answer #1 because I have learned that to ensure a client's confidence, that requires trust. The most important way to acquire trust is by not only staying involved in the process (which is similar to my answer 2), but feeling like the client is apart of a collaborative team (in which they never would have done if the attorney or firm didn't represent the same values as the client which includes my answer 3).
2) The process I took to arrive at my best answer was one gained through mentorship experience. I have noticed that the clients who kept in contact with our office are a symbol of pure confidence in not only the attorney, but in the attorney's ability to win their case. There is no correlation that I have noticed between the clients who keep in contact with the office and the success rates of their case, but there is a correlation between their attendance to the office and client's confidence.
3) Problems I faced were simple ones, though they couldn't be solved. The most important aspect about keeping in contact with the office is commuting here from wherever the client is located. Though the reasoning for our office location being in Pomona, California was basically due to the fact that the city is saturated in the demographic of people our office aims to attract, commuting for most client's have typically been a major problem because as illegal immigrants, most find unstable jobs that they have to work at most of the day and long hours through the night still making minimum wage. Minimum wage causes them to be forced into working unfair hours, making it difficult to take the time to visit our office with their families (because they have to accommodate their schedules as well). The solution we have uncovered is telephonic communication, even though it is not as strong as a bond due to it the fact that without speaking in person, it is very non-personal.
4) My most important source for answering my essential question was from a book titled: Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose it, Why People Demand it by James Kouzes and from my fourth interview in which the topics of credibility and trust were heavily discussed which assured my confidence in my best answer.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Extra April Blog- "Tranquility"
We only have about one more month of prison left. Oh, I mean school.
....or do I?
....or do I?
Adequacy would be the least of my concerns at this point. I have consistently striven at this school to achieve only excellence. I put time and effort into everything I turned in. I wholeheartedly believed that my effort would reflect in my grades, that my GPA wouldn't so much be a number, but an asset that would run parallel in worthiness to every one of my accomplishments in high school. The truth is, I was naive to believe that. Even during my first year of attendance, I noticed that there was a problem. My effort was not being reflected in my grades due to the oh so lovely grading system here at I-Poly. Foolishly, I remained a loyal I-Polian for the sake of simplicity. I had already created (what felt like at the time) unbreakable bonds, embraced the I-Poly mentality and became accustomed to a certain style of teaching (which does not include senior year). Now only weeks away from my senior presentation, the one 8 months in the making, are you curious to know how I feel? *no* WELL I'M GOING TO TELL YOU ANYWAYS.
I feel nothing, but tranquility.
I'm not worried, because I have spent months dedicated to this project, weeks debating over all the possible ways of phrasing my essential question, days perfecting my research check notebook just to make sure it looks organized, hours in libraries hunting down the perfect books and now I'm left with few minutes of worry. I've had 4 years of stressing just to be able to attain that AE, but now it's over. I will try my hardest to succeed for the duration of this project, now without that same AE mindset. I am no longer concerned with the grades I receive at this point. Rather, I am more concerned with knowing that I did the maximum amount I possibly could in this presentation and for the rest of the year. Consistently displaying such effort in the past and only being rewarded by 'P's, this year I was very discouraged. I'm pleased to announce that I am not longer seeking to satisfy my fellow classmates, teachers or faculty. I am finishing this project for me. You see, I-Poly really is a prison. We are kept in a room for hours, confined to close quarters and being told that when released, things will be different. But prisoners walk out of years of confinement all the time completely unchanged, I-Poly is unlike this. This month I have finally realized just how much of a transformative experience I-Poly has the ability to make. I am so thankful I had this little epiphany, because honestly I could easily blame the changes I've undergone these past four years on puberty or the 'Teenage Change,' but it is I-Poly that has reconstructed me as a whole. In my opinion, it is largely part of what has made me the strong, capable woman I am.
[For those of you who are not familiar with the I-Poly grading system: AE = A, P = B] There are no pluses, no minuses. You are either proficient or approaching excellence. Because we all know in this world there is no in-between, right?]
[For those of you who are not familiar with the I-Poly grading system: AE = A, P = B] There are no pluses, no minuses. You are either proficient or approaching excellence. Because we all know in this world there is no in-between, right?]
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Blog 19- Independent Component 2
Literal:
a) I, Marissa Jasso, affirm that I have completed my independent component which represents 45 hours of work.
b) My main source that helped me complete my independent component was the required text for the class that I took (which was my independent component), titled "Psychology In Your Life" by authors Grison, Heatherton and Gazzaniga.
c) Digital spreadsheet- Uploaded in my Mentorship Log
It can also be found here.
d) Explanation of what I completed: I have completed over thirty hours of working on this component. I decided to take a Psychology class at Citrus Community College. It was titled 'Psychology 101: Introduction to Psychology,' instructed by Dr. Sharon Rizk. Throughout the course of the class, I read the entire Psychology text book which consists of 531 pages.
I was originally inspired to take this course because the topic of psychology had always interested me and now that I'm going to college, I need to start acquiring my general education units. I was planning on taking Psychology 101 due to my need for college credits anyways, but when I found out that we needed another independent component, I was sure that this psychology course was for me. The psychology course was based on the many theories of mental processes, perception and intellectual research.
Interpretive:
Here I would like to explain the significance of my independent component 2 by providing evidence and reasoning for this particular choice of topic. Many would wonder how a Psychology course could interconnect with Immigration Law and to that I would answer with this: Psychology and any type of law work hand and hand. Psychology is the study of mind and behavior, and when working in law that is extremely useful information to know. When working with clients, our office often would like to know what on earth was running through their minds during the time of our interview, or the time they committed their crime, or why their behavior is they way it is. Often times we would like to study their behavior more often then we would like to fix the consequences of it. This is why I found that taking a psychology course is significant. I took it in hopes of better understanding the clients I serve.
Theses are the examples of the notes we had to take outside of the classroom. We were assigned two to three chapters per week of reading which ranged from 85-130 pages. There were also mandatory notes we had to take in class, which the professor would check for at the end of every class, but assured us it was for our own personal benefit. There were also homework worksheets the professor would give to us after every lecture, which were constructed very similarly to my personal notes.
This was an example of the homework given in which we would have to fill in the blank. This was an example of Chapter 3 and the pictures I took covered Chapter 3.1. A typical packet she would have given to us for homework would be 7-8 pages in length of fill in the blanks, because it would have to cover material for Chapter 3. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The structure of the class was simple. The class was held once a week for 3 hours at a time at night. Every other week was a test on the 2-3 chapters we were assigned the week before. In total, I have completed 45 hours of in class Psychology test/lecture learning time. This 45 hours of documented work on my project hours listed above does not include time for homework outside of the classroom, studying or personal note taking from the book or recorded lectures at home.
Applied:
This class helped my answer my EQ in multiple ways I never would have expected. Besides the fact that I'm not even completed with the full course yet, I have already learned so much that can help me answer my essential question. The best example I could give was that in Chapter 9: Motivation and Emotion, the book discussed the topic of belonging, social development and social attachments. The chapter was enthralling to begin with because it started off with the sentence: 'We often hear that "humans are social animals." This statement is not just a s way of saying that people like parties.' What a chapter hook, am I right? Later in depth, it began to speak about the need to belong, and specifically the Need To Belong Theory which states that the need for social relations is a fundamental motive that has evolved for adaptive reasons. It has been our method of survival since far more primitive times, sticking together has now evolved into what it is today which is people staying together in social groups. The book states that "a lack of human contact causes emptiness and despair." It even mentions the movie Cast Away as an example of how necessary human togetherness is to not only life, but living. This was how I got my answer of having the client maintain consistently involved in the progress of their case. People need human contact with other individuals, it makes them feel safer, more protected and more connected. This human connectedness builds the feeling of confidence and motivation within that one individual. I do not feel that I would have come up with this answer if it were not for all that I have learned throughout the course of this class, as well in the particular chapters of Emotion and Motivation.
a) I, Marissa Jasso, affirm that I have completed my independent component which represents 45 hours of work.
b) My main source that helped me complete my independent component was the required text for the class that I took (which was my independent component), titled "Psychology In Your Life" by authors Grison, Heatherton and Gazzaniga.
c) Digital spreadsheet- Uploaded in my Mentorship Log
It can also be found here.
d) Explanation of what I completed: I have completed over thirty hours of working on this component. I decided to take a Psychology class at Citrus Community College. It was titled 'Psychology 101: Introduction to Psychology,' instructed by Dr. Sharon Rizk. Throughout the course of the class, I read the entire Psychology text book which consists of 531 pages.
I was originally inspired to take this course because the topic of psychology had always interested me and now that I'm going to college, I need to start acquiring my general education units. I was planning on taking Psychology 101 due to my need for college credits anyways, but when I found out that we needed another independent component, I was sure that this psychology course was for me. The psychology course was based on the many theories of mental processes, perception and intellectual research.
Interpretive:
Here I would like to explain the significance of my independent component 2 by providing evidence and reasoning for this particular choice of topic. Many would wonder how a Psychology course could interconnect with Immigration Law and to that I would answer with this: Psychology and any type of law work hand and hand. Psychology is the study of mind and behavior, and when working in law that is extremely useful information to know. When working with clients, our office often would like to know what on earth was running through their minds during the time of our interview, or the time they committed their crime, or why their behavior is they way it is. Often times we would like to study their behavior more often then we would like to fix the consequences of it. This is why I found that taking a psychology course is significant. I took it in hopes of better understanding the clients I serve.
This was an example of the homework given in which we would have to fill in the blank. This was an example of Chapter 3 and the pictures I took covered Chapter 3.1. A typical packet she would have given to us for homework would be 7-8 pages in length of fill in the blanks, because it would have to cover material for Chapter 3. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The structure of the class was simple. The class was held once a week for 3 hours at a time at night. Every other week was a test on the 2-3 chapters we were assigned the week before. In total, I have completed 45 hours of in class Psychology test/lecture learning time. This 45 hours of documented work on my project hours listed above does not include time for homework outside of the classroom, studying or personal note taking from the book or recorded lectures at home.
Applied:
This class helped my answer my EQ in multiple ways I never would have expected. Besides the fact that I'm not even completed with the full course yet, I have already learned so much that can help me answer my essential question. The best example I could give was that in Chapter 9: Motivation and Emotion, the book discussed the topic of belonging, social development and social attachments. The chapter was enthralling to begin with because it started off with the sentence: 'We often hear that "humans are social animals." This statement is not just a s way of saying that people like parties.' What a chapter hook, am I right? Later in depth, it began to speak about the need to belong, and specifically the Need To Belong Theory which states that the need for social relations is a fundamental motive that has evolved for adaptive reasons. It has been our method of survival since far more primitive times, sticking together has now evolved into what it is today which is people staying together in social groups. The book states that "a lack of human contact causes emptiness and despair." It even mentions the movie Cast Away as an example of how necessary human togetherness is to not only life, but living. This was how I got my answer of having the client maintain consistently involved in the progress of their case. People need human contact with other individuals, it makes them feel safer, more protected and more connected. This human connectedness builds the feeling of confidence and motivation within that one individual. I do not feel that I would have come up with this answer if it were not for all that I have learned throughout the course of this class, as well in the particular chapters of Emotion and Motivation.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Extra March Blog
Have you ever had one of those roommates that seem completely adequate until you actually have a conversation with them and they say something like... "Haha yeah, I watch you in your sleep."
Yeah neither have I, but that would be scary though right? I have graciously been given the honor of working with our two newly hired employees. I consider them roommates, because most days I see them for more hours than I actually sleep. Working in a new environment, being surrounded by people you don't know, having to learn a whole new system of doing everything may be a little daunting in the beginning...and in the middle...and probably in the end for some introverts. When you get hired by someone/where new, you are not just changing jobs, you're changing lifestyles. Though this could be worrisome, our law office processes (thankfully) haven't changed much throughout the years. They may have mutated to better fit the needs of our client base, or to gain efficiency in some aspects, but overall when this business was established, the owners worked out the kinks through years of trial and error so that now it should be near flawless. My new associates will soon come to realize our methodology and perhaps even embrace it with positivity. Either way, I have yet to have a personal conversation with them, so I'm not quite sure how they will embrace the transition...
Similar to a roommate, I will begin to make myself more known to them slowly but surely (not all at once, I mean we don't want them to quit), I will start to gain their trust and respect as I hope they will earn mine in order to create a better relationship with each of them. I have found productivity to benefit from stronger associate relationships. Not only does team work come into play, but overall you want to work harder, faster and with more vigor when you feel confident you are in a comfortable, positive and friendly environment. When you feel that efforts are not only recognized (by your boss/coworker) but appreciated, a more sustainable chain of command is created and a business becomes pleasantly efficient.
Yeah neither have I, but that would be scary though right? I have graciously been given the honor of working with our two newly hired employees. I consider them roommates, because most days I see them for more hours than I actually sleep. Working in a new environment, being surrounded by people you don't know, having to learn a whole new system of doing everything may be a little daunting in the beginning...and in the middle...and probably in the end for some introverts. When you get hired by someone/where new, you are not just changing jobs, you're changing lifestyles. Though this could be worrisome, our law office processes (thankfully) haven't changed much throughout the years. They may have mutated to better fit the needs of our client base, or to gain efficiency in some aspects, but overall when this business was established, the owners worked out the kinks through years of trial and error so that now it should be near flawless. My new associates will soon come to realize our methodology and perhaps even embrace it with positivity. Either way, I have yet to have a personal conversation with them, so I'm not quite sure how they will embrace the transition...
Similar to a roommate, I will begin to make myself more known to them slowly but surely (not all at once, I mean we don't want them to quit), I will start to gain their trust and respect as I hope they will earn mine in order to create a better relationship with each of them. I have found productivity to benefit from stronger associate relationships. Not only does team work come into play, but overall you want to work harder, faster and with more vigor when you feel confident you are in a comfortable, positive and friendly environment. When you feel that efforts are not only recognized (by your boss/coworker) but appreciated, a more sustainable chain of command is created and a business becomes pleasantly efficient.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Blog 18: Fourth Interview Prep.
20 Open Ended Questions...
1. Why do you consider yourself to be an expert in this particular field of law?
2. In your eyes, how does immigration effect society as a whole?
3. How is what you do different than lets just say, a person who does the same thing as you, but works directly for the government?
4. Do you believe the current immigration problem will ever be completely solved?
5. Why is it important to have affordable rates for what you do in your profession?
6. Is it possible for an attorney's credibility to already be established before the he/she has even met with the client?
7. How can an attorney best establish good credibility from the perception of a client?
8. Do you believe that credibility can be transferred with a title, why or why not?
9. How would you begin to establish credibility amongst a team?
10. What does integrity mean to you?
11. How is it possible, if at all, to continuously represent your honest authentic integrity while representing your client?
12. Can you give an example of demonstrating integrity in the workplace?
13. Do you think its possible for the definition of integrity to become skewed to the point of no recognition due to people's personal biases?
14. How do you overcome the mental battle to take the easy way out of things during long nights, and stacks of paperwork?
15. What other strengths such as dignity and nobility do you associate with the word 'attorney'?
16. What do you feel is the most significant factor in ensuring a clients confidence that the attorney will exert his/her best ability upon their clients case?
17. How can a firm or attorney best announce news to a client that is not in their favor?
18. Which part of your job can you say you are most proud of?
19. What do you believe is the best type of advertisement for your line of work? Word of mouth, commercials, ads...
20. Can you give me an example of your greatest failure working in your job and explain to me how you learned from it?
21. My project is heavily focused on customer service, in your opinion what is the difference between good and exceptional customer service?
1. Why do you consider yourself to be an expert in this particular field of law?
2. In your eyes, how does immigration effect society as a whole?
3. How is what you do different than lets just say, a person who does the same thing as you, but works directly for the government?
4. Do you believe the current immigration problem will ever be completely solved?
5. Why is it important to have affordable rates for what you do in your profession?
6. Is it possible for an attorney's credibility to already be established before the he/she has even met with the client?
7. How can an attorney best establish good credibility from the perception of a client?
8. Do you believe that credibility can be transferred with a title, why or why not?
9. How would you begin to establish credibility amongst a team?
10. What does integrity mean to you?
11. How is it possible, if at all, to continuously represent your honest authentic integrity while representing your client?
12. Can you give an example of demonstrating integrity in the workplace?
13. Do you think its possible for the definition of integrity to become skewed to the point of no recognition due to people's personal biases?
14. How do you overcome the mental battle to take the easy way out of things during long nights, and stacks of paperwork?
15. What other strengths such as dignity and nobility do you associate with the word 'attorney'?
16. What do you feel is the most significant factor in ensuring a clients confidence that the attorney will exert his/her best ability upon their clients case?
17. How can a firm or attorney best announce news to a client that is not in their favor?
18. Which part of your job can you say you are most proud of?
19. What do you believe is the best type of advertisement for your line of work? Word of mouth, commercials, ads...
20. Can you give me an example of your greatest failure working in your job and explain to me how you learned from it?
21. My project is heavily focused on customer service, in your opinion what is the difference between good and exceptional customer service?
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Blog 17: Answer 3
My Current Essential Question: What is the most significant factor in ensuring a client's confidence that the attorney will exert his her best ability upon their immigration case?
Third Answer: The most important factor in ensuring a client's confidence in their attorney is by having the attorney and their firm consistently represent authentic integrity.
"Establishing Credibility: Inspiring Trust in Others." Establishing Credibility. MindTools, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.
I have often found myself at a place called The Donut Man at 2am. Accompanied by great friends, most of the time I end up going home saying "No, I was wrong before. This has been the greatest night of my life." Sometimes half way through it, I'll be somewhere past that moment of 'stomach aching, roll on the floor, far past knee slapping, can't inhale, someone's thumb is hovering over 911, I just did an ab workout yesterday and I'm really feeling it' kind of laughter and I'll look at my surroundings and suddenly find myself lost my own thoughts. 'How on Earth did my parents let me go out tonight? How can they have so much confidence in me? I am so lucky!" Then I remember, it's not luck at all! It's trust. This is hard earned TRUST I'm enjoying right now. I don't dare create mishaps for myself, not so much in fear of losing their trust, but in gratitude for the position I am in. It is not that I am terrified of knocking my tower of trust blocks down, it is that I need to maintain this solid foundation so that I can continue building up.
Ever since I was a little girl and my mom turned her back on the cookie dough smeared bowl to wash her hands saying, "Don't touch the bowl Marissa..." I've been waiting for these moments. The moments of free will where I could have the bowl in front of me and do what whatever I please with it! Lick that bowl like a Nutella covered spoon, get a stomach ache and be bad or listen to instructions, save the calories and future lecture while being good. Now every time I have a bowl in front of me (I do hope you realize we are now speaking theoretically), I do the same thing I did when I was a child. I don't touch it. Do you see where it got me now? It was all worth it. In the end, I got trust AND sugar so life ended up working out.
The point is, trust must be earned and accumulated over time in any situation/occupation. It sure would make things easier if along the way, the attorney proved himself to actually be trustworthy by demonstrating some integrity. This goes for his firm as well. When a mistake is made, own up to it and tell the client. If progress is made, great but don't go on boasting about it, the job isn't done yet. Customers will stay loyal if they find a purpose worth their devotion. It doesn't all happen at once- Baby steps people. Over time if there aren't any major slip ups, clients will demonstrate their confidence. Having the clients confidence always helps an attorney's moral, which then in state helps build a better case. When you have an attorney working on a case with the diligent adoration of their client, it will make the attorney want to be more devoted just knowing that they have the support. There will be times, the attorney will have the bowl in front of him, it's a late night, he could argue a weak case, type up a snappy brief and just be done for the night...but you know what? If my third answer is correct, the attorney will get the bowl throw it on the ground, burn it and then spit on it, TWICE. He will write up a fantastic brief, catch up on sleep later (who needs it anyways) and create a great argument. It's these kinds of things that build trust. Having integrity, honesty, dedication and resisting when it seems like no other cookie dough covered bowl will ever be more deliciously tempting that the one right in front of you.
After all, if the bowl was in front of you, what would you do?
Third Answer: The most important factor in ensuring a client's confidence in their attorney is by having the attorney and their firm consistently represent authentic integrity.
"Establishing Credibility: Inspiring Trust in Others." Establishing Credibility. MindTools, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.
I have often found myself at a place called The Donut Man at 2am. Accompanied by great friends, most of the time I end up going home saying "No, I was wrong before. This has been the greatest night of my life." Sometimes half way through it, I'll be somewhere past that moment of 'stomach aching, roll on the floor, far past knee slapping, can't inhale, someone's thumb is hovering over 911, I just did an ab workout yesterday and I'm really feeling it' kind of laughter and I'll look at my surroundings and suddenly find myself lost my own thoughts. 'How on Earth did my parents let me go out tonight? How can they have so much confidence in me? I am so lucky!" Then I remember, it's not luck at all! It's trust. This is hard earned TRUST I'm enjoying right now. I don't dare create mishaps for myself, not so much in fear of losing their trust, but in gratitude for the position I am in. It is not that I am terrified of knocking my tower of trust blocks down, it is that I need to maintain this solid foundation so that I can continue building up.
Ever since I was a little girl and my mom turned her back on the cookie dough smeared bowl to wash her hands saying, "Don't touch the bowl Marissa..." I've been waiting for these moments. The moments of free will where I could have the bowl in front of me and do what whatever I please with it! Lick that bowl like a Nutella covered spoon, get a stomach ache and be bad or listen to instructions, save the calories and future lecture while being good. Now every time I have a bowl in front of me (I do hope you realize we are now speaking theoretically), I do the same thing I did when I was a child. I don't touch it. Do you see where it got me now? It was all worth it. In the end, I got trust AND sugar so life ended up working out.
The point is, trust must be earned and accumulated over time in any situation/occupation. It sure would make things easier if along the way, the attorney proved himself to actually be trustworthy by demonstrating some integrity. This goes for his firm as well. When a mistake is made, own up to it and tell the client. If progress is made, great but don't go on boasting about it, the job isn't done yet. Customers will stay loyal if they find a purpose worth their devotion. It doesn't all happen at once- Baby steps people. Over time if there aren't any major slip ups, clients will demonstrate their confidence. Having the clients confidence always helps an attorney's moral, which then in state helps build a better case. When you have an attorney working on a case with the diligent adoration of their client, it will make the attorney want to be more devoted just knowing that they have the support. There will be times, the attorney will have the bowl in front of him, it's a late night, he could argue a weak case, type up a snappy brief and just be done for the night...but you know what? If my third answer is correct, the attorney will get the bowl throw it on the ground, burn it and then spit on it, TWICE. He will write up a fantastic brief, catch up on sleep later (who needs it anyways) and create a great argument. It's these kinds of things that build trust. Having integrity, honesty, dedication and resisting when it seems like no other cookie dough covered bowl will ever be more deliciously tempting that the one right in front of you.
After all, if the bowl was in front of you, what would you do?
Friday, February 27, 2015
Extra February Post
Oh, what month it has been at the law office. Strange things have happened here....(In the hanging tree). No, seriously. Some occurrences have been brought to my attention that I feel should be noted in my blog to perhaps help all of you readers out there (allllll 6 of you). Crazy things have happened people. If walls could speak....
If walls could speak that would be just great because they could tell us who on earth is making out all of these checks to our office and forgetting to put their name on it! I mean it's freaky stuff! Life lesson: When you become a big kid and you have to go to the bank...go to CHASE bank and take advantage of their free strawberry water...it is imperative to note that when you are making a check to someone, especially a business with hundreds of people making out very similar checks, you should sign your name so the business knows who it is from and they can credit your account. This funny little incident happened three times in one week which may not seem like that big of a deal, but when three people get their statements back in the mail and realize that their bills have not changed, they still owe the same amount PLUS late fees, I have a feeling it won't be so funny anymore.
Something that might also help your situation when you call our office in a flaming bright blue rage, is a date. I'm not saying get yourself a man, then you will be less mad (although that might also work), I'm saying it may be helpful to note the exact date of the month you wrote that check or deposited money into our account. A little proof never hurt anybody... women, perhaps a selfie of you holding your check with that manly bank teller? Men, maybe... yeah men you should just write your name- Wouldn't want a restraining order or anything. We're not that kind of law office.
If walls could speak that would be just great because they could tell us who on earth is making out all of these checks to our office and forgetting to put their name on it! I mean it's freaky stuff! Life lesson: When you become a big kid and you have to go to the bank...go to CHASE bank and take advantage of their free strawberry water...it is imperative to note that when you are making a check to someone, especially a business with hundreds of people making out very similar checks, you should sign your name so the business knows who it is from and they can credit your account. This funny little incident happened three times in one week which may not seem like that big of a deal, but when three people get their statements back in the mail and realize that their bills have not changed, they still owe the same amount PLUS late fees, I have a feeling it won't be so funny anymore.
Something that might also help your situation when you call our office in a flaming bright blue rage, is a date. I'm not saying get yourself a man, then you will be less mad (although that might also work), I'm saying it may be helpful to note the exact date of the month you wrote that check or deposited money into our account. A little proof never hurt anybody... women, perhaps a selfie of you holding your check with that manly bank teller? Men, maybe... yeah men you should just write your name- Wouldn't want a restraining order or anything. We're not that kind of law office.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Blog 16: Answer 2
1. What is the most significant factor in ensuring a client's confidence that the attorney will exert his/her best ability upon their immigration case.
2. The most significant factor in ensuring a client's confidence is to truthfully keep the client well informed of the case progression.
3. The best way to ensure a client's confidence in their attorney is by having the client continuously staying physically and mentally involved in the construction of their case to emphasize the feeling of a team effort.
4. Reason #1. Simply from personal experience at from working at my mentorship, I have noticed a difference between the mindset between those who come in to check up who have had no updates with their case, and those who come in to check up bringing back supplies for their case, or who have just called a few days ago in regards to the status of their case. People who are involved are more calm and therefore more confident.
Reason #2. In the real world when someone gets admitted to the hospital, you will call to check up on their well being whenever you cannot be in the hospital room. It is the same procedure with a case, when someone is admitted into a detention facility or back to their native country and their family cannot be by their side, our office is like the connection between the family and the member, in a way we are the hospital- Aiding the broken and keeping people together.
Reason #3. Sometimes as a child when in the middle of doing something important, our mothers would send us out to the other room to do remedial tasks such as putting something away or giving us something small to do to help out? Like when almost finishing the baking of a cake, she would assign you to get out the napkins you would later use to clean up all of the mess? Sometimes our office has to ask clients to run little favors like getting family pictures to put in files or retrieving birth certificates, these things may seem like something to get the client out of the way but in actuality, we really do need these things and every little bit of information helps. Though we may be asking clients to get the napkins, we really need them. Who likes a mess?
5. The best printed source I have would be "The Public Speaking Handbook" by Susan J. Beebe.
6. Another source that supports my answer would have to be "Immigration" by Debra A. Miller.
7. In conclusion, I look forward to researching more on the customer service aspect of immigration and not the laws that must be abided when providing that service.
2. The most significant factor in ensuring a client's confidence is to truthfully keep the client well informed of the case progression.
3. The best way to ensure a client's confidence in their attorney is by having the client continuously staying physically and mentally involved in the construction of their case to emphasize the feeling of a team effort.
4. Reason #1. Simply from personal experience at from working at my mentorship, I have noticed a difference between the mindset between those who come in to check up who have had no updates with their case, and those who come in to check up bringing back supplies for their case, or who have just called a few days ago in regards to the status of their case. People who are involved are more calm and therefore more confident.
Reason #2. In the real world when someone gets admitted to the hospital, you will call to check up on their well being whenever you cannot be in the hospital room. It is the same procedure with a case, when someone is admitted into a detention facility or back to their native country and their family cannot be by their side, our office is like the connection between the family and the member, in a way we are the hospital- Aiding the broken and keeping people together.
Reason #3. Sometimes as a child when in the middle of doing something important, our mothers would send us out to the other room to do remedial tasks such as putting something away or giving us something small to do to help out? Like when almost finishing the baking of a cake, she would assign you to get out the napkins you would later use to clean up all of the mess? Sometimes our office has to ask clients to run little favors like getting family pictures to put in files or retrieving birth certificates, these things may seem like something to get the client out of the way but in actuality, we really do need these things and every little bit of information helps. Though we may be asking clients to get the napkins, we really need them. Who likes a mess?
5. The best printed source I have would be "The Public Speaking Handbook" by Susan J. Beebe.
6. Another source that supports my answer would have to be "Immigration" by Debra A. Miller.
7. In conclusion, I look forward to researching more on the customer service aspect of immigration and not the laws that must be abided when providing that service.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Blog 15- Independent Component 2 Approval
1. For the next 30 hours, I intend to add an additional research and creativity to my senior project by taking a class at Citrus College on the Ethics of Philosophy.
2. I will upload my work such as essays, speeches of my favorite quotes from the required reading to demonstrate evidence of my taking of the class.
3. This will correspond with my senior project because it will give me a foundation for not just justice and law, but the morality that humans have to maintain while working with these elements. It is something I personally struggle with, finding the line between my morals and and what the law says. Perhaps this class will help me justify the actions of the government, and those in charge if I approach it with a more openminded knowledgable perspective.
4. A new tab is added under my senior project hours.
2. I will upload my work such as essays, speeches of my favorite quotes from the required reading to demonstrate evidence of my taking of the class.
3. This will correspond with my senior project because it will give me a foundation for not just justice and law, but the morality that humans have to maintain while working with these elements. It is something I personally struggle with, finding the line between my morals and and what the law says. Perhaps this class will help me justify the actions of the government, and those in charge if I approach it with a more openminded knowledgable perspective.
4. A new tab is added under my senior project hours.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Blog 14- Independent Component 1
LITERAL:
(A) I, Marissa Jasso, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 33 hours of work.
(B)
(C) My hours for this whole component are updated on the upper right hand corner of my blog.
(D) What did I do? Before I explain what I did, I feel it is best to explain my reasoning behind why I did what I did, so that hopefully you will see the strategy behind my actions.
Because my senior project is not just regarding immigration law, but rather more customer service, I found it best to find a class to better suit my desired needs at this point in my project. So far I have done a lot of my research on immigration law, and I feel like I am getting a great grasp on the politics behind law, on the specific services our law firm provides and on the cutting edge thinking needed to survive in the law office and court trials, but one thing I feel I am struggling with the most are the clients. I can study books for hours on types of law and regulation and rules for addressing certain cases, because they are memorable facts that can be obtained and regurgitated. Working with people coming from all different parts of the world, and finding the strength to appeal to each one without looking too shy or too forward is a challenge for me. Coming to International Polytechnic High School for all four years, you would think I would have learned how to speak in front of crowds, but yet every time a new customer walks in the door, those butterflies in my stomach (more like a zoo) never seem to disappear. I not only wanted to find a way for this independent component to benefit myself, but also to help others. I wanted to find a way to get my point across in a more simplistic manner. I found that when speaking to people my nervousness would compound upon my being flustered and somehow my words would get lost in translation. As much as I tried to simplify what I was saying or get to the point faster, sometimes the things I said would just not get through and the client would stand there staring at me in utter confusion. I needed guidance from somebody with experience in this field, someone with the expertise to give me more than just simple tips and fun facts on how you stay calm. With this in mind, I found a public speaking class at Citrus Community College. For my independent component one, I completed a series of essays written to accompany my many speeches which was the basis of the class throughout the course of 10 weeks.
I took a public speaking class called "Public Address 101." I had not only had to sit through 33 hours of lecture (not that I am complaining about it...I had the greatest professor in all the land), but I had to read the required texts accompanied by the lecture which was a book previously mentioned called "The Public Speaking Handbook" which by the way is no "handbook" at all, it's huge. We had to read a total of 450 pages throughout the the course which was broken down into 7 parts- Audience Centered Speaking Process, Analyzing an Audience, Preparing Statements, Crafting a Speech, Delivering a Speech, Types of Speeches and Appendixes. The 7 parts were divided up into 18 chapters, each with a minimum of 3 subsections and a maximum of 7. The chapters were oddly enough still required to be read, though usually in no way tied in with our lecture topics until weeks later. The professors timing was off because she had an older version of the book that she insisted on keeping to teach from even though she informed her students (myself included) to buy the 4th edition because she had briefly reviewed it and found it contained more relevant information.
Throughout the class, we were assigned to have many speeches, but just 10 weeks of speaking in front of strangers wasn't going to be enough to cure our stage fright or make us good speakers- We had to learn. This is the reason our professor insisted on lecturing for a good amount of time instead of forcing us to present on random things constantly. We had set speeches, each with a date and specific type of speech we were assigned to construct and preform. We had midterms and finals just as any other General Education class and this was all mentioned to us the first day as well as on the syllabus so people knew what they were getting into, as did I, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Speeches and Outlines:
Throughout the course of the class I had to prepare and recite many speeches. I had to create a personal experience speech, an informative speech, an informative outline, a persuasive speech, persuasive outline, a refutative speech, a final speech and a final outline. In addition we also had our midterm, our final and our impromptu speeches in which we were expected to come up with random topics to speak upon three times throughout the course. Our outlines were research based, written in MLA format and all required particular numbers of sources regarding the topic of the speech.
INTERPRETIVE:
I was lucky enough to have an instructor who allowed us to take notes on our laptops. During every lecture, I would take notes on a Word Document. In addition, I also saved the speeches/outlines that I wrote and submitted. What better evidence than the documents themselves?
Because I cannot upload Word Documents directly from my computer onto Blogger, and I do not know how to embed, I had to get creative. I have screen shotted two of my most popularly well received essays in which you may read as pictures!
Here is my Informative Speech written on the Injustices of the College Application System. I realized that I needed to find a topic that I could speak about knowledgeably and formally, but something that could also be relevant to what I am going through with my mentorship and with my life, which is how I came up with College Application System Injustices. While writing version after version of the speech I came to realize my most natural way of formally speaking. I found a comfortable middle ground between professionalism and my most relaxed state of being and while rehearsing consistently in front of family and friends I found that I had a confidence within me that I most likely wouldn't have stumbled upon any other way than my practicing as I had.
Here is my Persuasive Speech/Outline written on the correlation between Vegetarianism and Heart Disease. When choosing a topic for my persuasive speech, the instructor said to write about something that I happen to have a passion for, so I chose vegetarianism. Although this topic has nothing to do with my senior project, learning how to speak in front of a classroom full of strangers definitely helped my anxiety level when I had to go back to the office and speak in front of just one stranger.
Persuasion helps me during my mentorship. Learning how to persuade people is definitely an art I have not yet mastered, but it is needed in everyday in the workplace environment to talk to clients. Persuasion is needed with clients every day to ensure that they either will be persuaded to hire us on their behalf, or be persuaded to pay a higher price, or even just pay in total, clients need to be swung onto our side and for that to happen it is imperative I speak authoritatively and convincingly. I had to write multiple drafts of this one outline for my speech, editing phrases and words to make it more convincing. This is the same thing my mentor does when writing briefs or submitting documents to people in charge of their clients future. Law is a hard set strictly bound piece of wire, but if I've learned anything through mentorship and all of my efforts in the class of persuasion, it's that sometimes wires need to be bent...
(A) I, Marissa Jasso, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 33 hours of work.
(B)
- My main source of reference was a textbook bought online from ValoreBooks.com called "The Public Speaking Handbook", 4th edition by Steven & Susan Beebe. Cited in MLA format is: Beebe, Steven A., and Susan J. Beebe. The Public Speaking Handbook. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2005. Print. I used this book every single class period and this is not including all of the hours spent using it to help me construct speeches, study for midterms, quizzes, finals and complete assignments.
- This particular website was mentioned to us by our class instructor. It discusses the fear of public speaking, but it also has numerous links to other phobias and the point of going on the website is to realize that some of the other phobias are way worse that public speaking. Oddly enough, the website actually worked...There IS Something Worse.
- On the first day of class, our homework was to go online, find, print out and return read and in hand an article called 5 Reasons Everyone Should Take A Public Speaking Course. In fact, our first lecture was based off of this article as well as our class analysis of that piece for that day. I would have to mention it as a pretty valuable source not only to the class, but to my senior project.
(C) My hours for this whole component are updated on the upper right hand corner of my blog.
(D) What did I do? Before I explain what I did, I feel it is best to explain my reasoning behind why I did what I did, so that hopefully you will see the strategy behind my actions.
Because my senior project is not just regarding immigration law, but rather more customer service, I found it best to find a class to better suit my desired needs at this point in my project. So far I have done a lot of my research on immigration law, and I feel like I am getting a great grasp on the politics behind law, on the specific services our law firm provides and on the cutting edge thinking needed to survive in the law office and court trials, but one thing I feel I am struggling with the most are the clients. I can study books for hours on types of law and regulation and rules for addressing certain cases, because they are memorable facts that can be obtained and regurgitated. Working with people coming from all different parts of the world, and finding the strength to appeal to each one without looking too shy or too forward is a challenge for me. Coming to International Polytechnic High School for all four years, you would think I would have learned how to speak in front of crowds, but yet every time a new customer walks in the door, those butterflies in my stomach (more like a zoo) never seem to disappear. I not only wanted to find a way for this independent component to benefit myself, but also to help others. I wanted to find a way to get my point across in a more simplistic manner. I found that when speaking to people my nervousness would compound upon my being flustered and somehow my words would get lost in translation. As much as I tried to simplify what I was saying or get to the point faster, sometimes the things I said would just not get through and the client would stand there staring at me in utter confusion. I needed guidance from somebody with experience in this field, someone with the expertise to give me more than just simple tips and fun facts on how you stay calm. With this in mind, I found a public speaking class at Citrus Community College. For my independent component one, I completed a series of essays written to accompany my many speeches which was the basis of the class throughout the course of 10 weeks.
I took a public speaking class called "Public Address 101." I had not only had to sit through 33 hours of lecture (not that I am complaining about it...I had the greatest professor in all the land), but I had to read the required texts accompanied by the lecture which was a book previously mentioned called "The Public Speaking Handbook" which by the way is no "handbook" at all, it's huge. We had to read a total of 450 pages throughout the the course which was broken down into 7 parts- Audience Centered Speaking Process, Analyzing an Audience, Preparing Statements, Crafting a Speech, Delivering a Speech, Types of Speeches and Appendixes. The 7 parts were divided up into 18 chapters, each with a minimum of 3 subsections and a maximum of 7. The chapters were oddly enough still required to be read, though usually in no way tied in with our lecture topics until weeks later. The professors timing was off because she had an older version of the book that she insisted on keeping to teach from even though she informed her students (myself included) to buy the 4th edition because she had briefly reviewed it and found it contained more relevant information.
Throughout the class, we were assigned to have many speeches, but just 10 weeks of speaking in front of strangers wasn't going to be enough to cure our stage fright or make us good speakers- We had to learn. This is the reason our professor insisted on lecturing for a good amount of time instead of forcing us to present on random things constantly. We had set speeches, each with a date and specific type of speech we were assigned to construct and preform. We had midterms and finals just as any other General Education class and this was all mentioned to us the first day as well as on the syllabus so people knew what they were getting into, as did I, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Speeches and Outlines:
Throughout the course of the class I had to prepare and recite many speeches. I had to create a personal experience speech, an informative speech, an informative outline, a persuasive speech, persuasive outline, a refutative speech, a final speech and a final outline. In addition we also had our midterm, our final and our impromptu speeches in which we were expected to come up with random topics to speak upon three times throughout the course. Our outlines were research based, written in MLA format and all required particular numbers of sources regarding the topic of the speech.
INTERPRETIVE:
I was lucky enough to have an instructor who allowed us to take notes on our laptops. During every lecture, I would take notes on a Word Document. In addition, I also saved the speeches/outlines that I wrote and submitted. What better evidence than the documents themselves?
Because I cannot upload Word Documents directly from my computer onto Blogger, and I do not know how to embed, I had to get creative. I have screen shotted two of my most popularly well received essays in which you may read as pictures!
Here is my Informative Speech written on the Injustices of the College Application System. I realized that I needed to find a topic that I could speak about knowledgeably and formally, but something that could also be relevant to what I am going through with my mentorship and with my life, which is how I came up with College Application System Injustices. While writing version after version of the speech I came to realize my most natural way of formally speaking. I found a comfortable middle ground between professionalism and my most relaxed state of being and while rehearsing consistently in front of family and friends I found that I had a confidence within me that I most likely wouldn't have stumbled upon any other way than my practicing as I had.
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Persuasion helps me during my mentorship. Learning how to persuade people is definitely an art I have not yet mastered, but it is needed in everyday in the workplace environment to talk to clients. Persuasion is needed with clients every day to ensure that they either will be persuaded to hire us on their behalf, or be persuaded to pay a higher price, or even just pay in total, clients need to be swung onto our side and for that to happen it is imperative I speak authoritatively and convincingly. I had to write multiple drafts of this one outline for my speech, editing phrases and words to make it more convincing. This is the same thing my mentor does when writing briefs or submitting documents to people in charge of their clients future. Law is a hard set strictly bound piece of wire, but if I've learned anything through mentorship and all of my efforts in the class of persuasion, it's that sometimes wires need to be bent...
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Although the class was only 33 hours, that does not mean I spent only 33 hours working on this component. I spent hours writing and editing all of my speeches, rehearsing, memorizing facts flashcard by flashcard for specific speeches, brainstorming topics and even meeting with my newly made colleagues to study for the final which included a final speech and a final written exam.
APPLIED:
This component really helped me get a better grasp on my senior project. In fact I believe this component is AE worthy, this is why:
I didn't just continue my mentorship and work extra long hours, I continued my mentorship while taking this class, I analyzed the my project to find the holes that need improvement, isolated my problem and found a practical, successful solution. Public speaking has always been a challenge for me even at iPoly, but simply acknowledging the problem is not the answer. I found my own solution by finding and taking this class because I knew it would best suit my needs in the workplace. I have never been more confident while speaking to clients and after many impromptus, I'm comfortable being put on the spot with almost nothing to go on. Learning how to create everything from nothing, was a topic I was unfamiliar with. Confidence must be acquired over time and I'm not trying to say that after one class I am a some type of speaking wizard...but it is through this class that I have acquired the techniques to further enhance my speaking and writing abilities.
For example, in one of the lectures my instructor covered the topic of the communication cycle. Here were part of my notes from taken from that lecture.
APPLIED:
This component really helped me get a better grasp on my senior project. In fact I believe this component is AE worthy, this is why:
I didn't just continue my mentorship and work extra long hours, I continued my mentorship while taking this class, I analyzed the my project to find the holes that need improvement, isolated my problem and found a practical, successful solution. Public speaking has always been a challenge for me even at iPoly, but simply acknowledging the problem is not the answer. I found my own solution by finding and taking this class because I knew it would best suit my needs in the workplace. I have never been more confident while speaking to clients and after many impromptus, I'm comfortable being put on the spot with almost nothing to go on. Learning how to create everything from nothing, was a topic I was unfamiliar with. Confidence must be acquired over time and I'm not trying to say that after one class I am a some type of speaking wizard...but it is through this class that I have acquired the techniques to further enhance my speaking and writing abilities.
For example, in one of the lectures my instructor covered the topic of the communication cycle. Here were part of my notes from taken from that lecture.
One thing I found most important from that one lecture to my senior project was just how little I really knew communicating. I suppose because I am a girl I always assumed I was some kind of master at it, and that communicating my feelings, emotion, thought and expression was always very reflective of myself. I never truly thought of the larger picture which is that no matter who I am talking to, there is an audience. Speaking is an audience centered art which means that if I want to be listened to and actually understood, my speaking needs to be molded and developed into whoever my audience may be. This one little fact has made all the difference in my speaking at my mentorship. I no longer speak to clients as simply "Marissa", but depending to who I am speaking with I could be "Marissa the Friendly," "Marissa the Serious," "Marissa the Heartfelt," "Marissa the MAN"...I need to be able to act as a chameleon in every type of situation which is something I got to experience in my speaking class while portraying a formal speaker one day, a persuasive speaker the next, a Pro Stem Cell advocate one day and an Anti Science speaker the next. Taking on different rolls is something I found that I not only needed to learn, but once I did learn, I realized I was actually quite good at.
I completed that transferable class of 3 Units with a sold "A." I am extremely proud of my dedication to the class, the students, the speeches and most importantly myself. Public speaking is the #1 fear of all Americans, even death comes in as #2. I proved myself to be not so typical in the way that I'm no longer afraid anymore! I take pride in saying I've turned my worst fear, into my biggest asset. I only hope this is reflected in my blog.
I completed that transferable class of 3 Units with a sold "A." I am extremely proud of my dedication to the class, the students, the speeches and most importantly myself. Public speaking is the #1 fear of all Americans, even death comes in as #2. I proved myself to be not so typical in the way that I'm no longer afraid anymore! I take pride in saying I've turned my worst fear, into my biggest asset. I only hope this is reflected in my blog.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Extra Post for January
It is a
new year, a year of great beginnings with lots of people eager with hope that
this year will be one of change. Some people in particular are coming to and
from Syria, a country that once just the spoken name was enough to spark a
debate. Syria is located in western Asia right under Turkey, between Lebanon
and the Mediterranean Sea. If you type in Syria in Google right now, the first
thing that will come up will be regarding their chemical weapon plants, so if
you guessed that they are not in the best of situations, DING DING we have a
winner- They are not. They are currently going through a civil war and ISIS is
causing quite the commotion. Some argue that the civilians need aid and as
Americans, it is our job to fight for the unheard voiceless due to the fact
that we once were there. Others argue that it is not our problem and it is not
our fight to be involved in. Whichever path you chose to take belief in, it is
important to know that there are good people in Syria with families in America
and vise versa. People see headlines such as the one released
labeled: "Killed for 'being gay': ISIS
savages blindfolded man and threw him off tower block - then stoned him to
death when he SURVIVED the fall." Then people assume, oh good golly that
is terrible there are terrible people over there doing terrible things, we must
be afraid of these Syrians! Hasty generalizations are
the fundamental cause of the lack of empathy for foreigners. Working
in the immigration office, I have seen people in the waiting room stare their
fellow human counterpart down, simply because they are wearing a headscarf or
not showing any skin. Cultural respect is something that must
be implemented in the brains of our own selves before we can go
around trying to invoke it upon others.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Blog 13- Lesson 2 Reflection
1. I am most proud of my activity in my Lesson two. It was where the class was split into three groups and each had to nominate one person who could trace their ancestral background the furthest. I was really enthused and proud of how the class took the activity seriously. Not only did it make me take other people's presentation with a more well rounded respect but it definitely calmed my nerves while presenting.
2. I would give myself an AE, because not only did I meet all of the P requirements but I dressed the part as I would present myself at my office. I had prizes for individuals who completed the activity successfully, and I spent a lot of time rehearsing which I hope was evident to the audience.
3. What worked in my lesson two was retaining all of the info I had practiced. I didn't have one notecard or any notes while presenting because I had practiced the information so well it became memorized.
4. I probably would have started my intro off a little differently. I said that Immigration is a boring subject, and I already know this, but I will try to interest you. I was trying to be honest, and everybody was thinking what I was saying but I suppose some things are better left unsaid.
5. I believe a good answer for my second best choice would be: The best way to enhance a clients confidence in their attorney is by having the client staying physically and emotionally involved in the construction of their case to emphasize the feeling of a team effort.
2. I would give myself an AE, because not only did I meet all of the P requirements but I dressed the part as I would present myself at my office. I had prizes for individuals who completed the activity successfully, and I spent a lot of time rehearsing which I hope was evident to the audience.
3. What worked in my lesson two was retaining all of the info I had practiced. I didn't have one notecard or any notes while presenting because I had practiced the information so well it became memorized.
4. I probably would have started my intro off a little differently. I said that Immigration is a boring subject, and I already know this, but I will try to interest you. I was trying to be honest, and everybody was thinking what I was saying but I suppose some things are better left unsaid.
5. I believe a good answer for my second best choice would be: The best way to enhance a clients confidence in their attorney is by having the client staying physically and emotionally involved in the construction of their case to emphasize the feeling of a team effort.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Blog 12- Mentorship 10 Hours Check
1. I am doing my mentorship at an immigration office in Pomona called Law Office of Jaime Jasso located on Mission Blvd.
2. My most recent and viable contact would have to be my mentor, or the attorney of the office, Jaime Jasso.
3. I have completed a total of 86 hours at the office. That is not including my time spent over working through the summer time or my time working on my individual component.
4. In my most recent 10 hours, we (my co-workers and I), have been prepping for the new year by clearing out dozens of closed cases and creating stacks upon stacks of new folders for the new potential clients. We always do this in the beginning of the year so that when a new client comes in with a bunch of paperwork in his hands, we don't look unprofessional quickly scrambling to create a file to contain all of his information; One is already completely divided, color coated and organized. We are also in the process of transferring all of our previous online folders to Google Docs instead of storing them all individually on Word documents which is more time consuming than you would ever imagine.
2. My most recent and viable contact would have to be my mentor, or the attorney of the office, Jaime Jasso.
3. I have completed a total of 86 hours at the office. That is not including my time spent over working through the summer time or my time working on my individual component.
4. In my most recent 10 hours, we (my co-workers and I), have been prepping for the new year by clearing out dozens of closed cases and creating stacks upon stacks of new folders for the new potential clients. We always do this in the beginning of the year so that when a new client comes in with a bunch of paperwork in his hands, we don't look unprofessional quickly scrambling to create a file to contain all of his information; One is already completely divided, color coated and organized. We are also in the process of transferring all of our previous online folders to Google Docs instead of storing them all individually on Word documents which is more time consuming than you would ever imagine.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Blog 11- Holiday Project Update
1. What I did over the Winter Break with my mentorship was oddly extensive. Half of winter break the office was suppose to be closed for the "Holiday's" but in law, there is never any real holiday breaks. When the office was closed, my mentor continued going to the office as usual, and every once in a while instead of doing the work at the office, we would do the work at home. Oh the perks of having your father as your mentor...
2. What I learned while working over the break is that people in the real world never actually take "vacations." I guess that shouldn't have come as such a shock to me, but it did. I always took for granted my free time, but when observing my mentor typing on the keyboard furiously, I took a hard look at how good I have it in school. I-Poly gives us breaks and vacations, and every once in a while they give us a taste of the real world by assigning us homework over the breaks, but it is rare. At the office, the employee's did not come to the office, but my mentor did which just comes to show. If you want to be the boss, you have to work like one.
3. If we were going to do a 10 Question Interview on questions related to answers for my EQ who would we ask and why?... This is a sort of confusing question to wrap your head around because we usually ask questions to try and get answers to our EQ, and this blog post is assuming that we already know answers to our E.Q. which is risky because I have not completely solidified the answers to my E.Q. yet, but here are some questions relating to my tentative E.Q. answers referred to in my Blog 8. I chose to write two questions because it is important to know the types of questions that will be asked to my interviewer to understand why I am asking that particular person.
2. What I learned while working over the break is that people in the real world never actually take "vacations." I guess that shouldn't have come as such a shock to me, but it did. I always took for granted my free time, but when observing my mentor typing on the keyboard furiously, I took a hard look at how good I have it in school. I-Poly gives us breaks and vacations, and every once in a while they give us a taste of the real world by assigning us homework over the breaks, but it is rare. At the office, the employee's did not come to the office, but my mentor did which just comes to show. If you want to be the boss, you have to work like one.
3. If we were going to do a 10 Question Interview on questions related to answers for my EQ who would we ask and why?... This is a sort of confusing question to wrap your head around because we usually ask questions to try and get answers to our EQ, and this blog post is assuming that we already know answers to our E.Q. which is risky because I have not completely solidified the answers to my E.Q. yet, but here are some questions relating to my tentative E.Q. answers referred to in my Blog 8. I chose to write two questions because it is important to know the types of questions that will be asked to my interviewer to understand why I am asking that particular person.
- Is being kept well informed of the status of one immigration case the most important factor in your opinion of a clients positive attitude during the process of winning their case?
- If a client is involved in the process of working on their case by for example, retrieving papers from their past, do you feel this will impact the confidence of a client during the process of their case being won?
I would choose to ask an associate of my mentor, his name is Enrico. Although not a certified (he did not chose to pass the bar exam) attorney himself, he does work very closely with my father. He has worked in the immigration practice far longer than my father so I feel that his knowledge and experience would come into play when answering these type of customer service questions.
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