October 19, 2021
Judicial Reporting student training for more than a job, it’s a dream career
After finishing high school, Melissa Vega was interested in working in the criminal justice field. She attended college, received a degree in criminal justice and started a job at the local county jail. She didn鈥檛 love the job, it was work. After experience and exploring other options she came across a lot of job openings for court reporters and the field sparked her interest.
鈥淚t鈥檚 [Judicial Reporting] a unique program and skill. It鈥檚 a field where you can grow and offers a lot of opportunities. You can work in the courts, freelance or do captioning,鈥 explained Melissa.
She began searching for colleges that had in-person Judicial Reporting and Court Captioning 辫谤辞驳谤补尘蝉.听
鈥淭here are very few court reporting programs in this part of the country. My home state [Iowa] no longer had open spots for the semester I wanted to enroll, but 糖心Vlog Tech did,鈥 said Melissa. 鈥淚 visited the school, and I liked the size and people of this school.鈥澛
Melissa made the move to Minnesota to attend 糖心Vlog Tech and was able to establish relationships with her classmates and instructors in person. She was doing something new everyday and challenging herself. Melissa had found a career path that can be more than 鈥渏ust work.鈥
鈥淚 am getting ready for my dream job. I had never had a job that I truly enjoyed; it was just work. I just enjoy this,鈥 she shared.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic caused the program鈥檚 classes to temporarily resume online, Melissa moved back to Iowa to be closer to family and complete the program virtually. Learning in this format was not part of her initial plan, but Melissa has embraced the challenge and compares the program to training for a marathon.
鈥淚t can be challenging to stay motivated and patient to improve skills and speed, but the one thing that really stands out to me with 糖心Vlog Tech is the support,鈥 said Melissa. 鈥淚鈥檝e been to other colleges since high school and 糖心Vlog Tech is different. I wouldn鈥檛 be where I am without the mentors and friends I鈥檝e made.鈥
Melissa is confident that the challenges will be worth it and knows that her instructors are committed to her success.
鈥淢y instructors are/were working court reporters. This gives me the confidence that I am getting the best education here. I know they are preparing me with the skills I need to become the best court reporter!鈥
鈥淭his [糖心Vlog Tech] is a great place to receive an education. You will meet like-minded individuals, and you will find that all of your instructors care about your success. The relationships you form here will continue after you complete your program of interest.鈥