1. Why did you decide to come to court reporting school?
I saw commercials for the Court Reporting Institute of Dallas on TV. I liked the idea of having a flexible schedule and the ability to be your own boss. I also liked the fact that I wouldn’t have to take two years of basics like I would in university.
2. What did you do before court reporting school? (other jobs, schools, etc.)
I went to court reporting school right after I finished high school. I did work as a ranch hand when I was in high school. I loved working there, but they only paid minimum wage.
3. What date did you start court reporting school?
I started in the summer semester of 2007.
4. What made you choose CCR?
My mom did a lot of online research to find the best school, and CCR looked much better than any of the other online schools. At the time, CCR was also one of the few online court reporting schools that was NCRA certified.
5. What are your strengths/weaknesses?
One of my biggest weaknesses is time management. If I don’t plan out my time, it gets away from me very quickly. I also tend to be disorganized and lose things, so I have to make a specific place for something or I probably won’t be able to find it when I need it.
One of my greatest strengths is perfectionism. Whenever I am given a task, my natural reaction is to do it as flawlessly as I can. This is a big help to me as a court reporter, because I thrive on the challenge of creating a perfect transcript.
6. What was your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge was discouragement. It took me several semesters to get through some of the speedbuilding levels, and it was very disheartening to go so long without making obvious progress. There were times when I felt like I was never going to make progress or finish school.
7. What motivated you to complete the program?
The amount of time and money that I had already put into the program was what motivated me the most. When I was discouraged, it would help to think about how far I had come from when I first started school. It would have been a huge waste if I had quit in the middle of my education, and I knew I would regret it later in life.
8. What advice would you give to other court reporting students?
Don’t ever give up. There were many times when I felt like I was never going to pass another test no matter how hard I tried. That made it harder for me to put all my energy into speedbuilding, because I felt like it wasn’t going to help anything. Something I learned from Margie Wakeman Wells is to repeat positive things in my head over and over to encourage myself. It really does help me to focus and feel better about my writing.
9. Do you currently have a job? If yes, what do you do?
I just started working for a freelance firm in Florida. I am really enjoying it so far.
10. How did you find your current job?
They had an ad in the JCR.
11. What are your future plans? What certifications do you plan on earning?
Right now, my plan is to work as a freelancer and gain as much experience as I can. I have my RPR, and after I work for a few years I might try to pass the RMR.