Meet Jennifer Traub-Plummer of Enon, Ohio, a July 2005 graduate of AIPS and currently an AIPS alumni mentor
Q: Why did you choose AIPS?
A: In all the research I had done, and trust me I researched for weeks before I made the decision, especially when there was a large amount of money involved, I was very impressed with the fact that AIPS offers the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE) and the Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) review courses, and they support students in taking the path to national certification.
Q: How has AIPS impacted your life?
A: I have four years of college behind me and then some graduate work, and at the time that I decided to come to AIPS I was very insecure due to some things that had happened in my personal life. I got more support and had more guidance from AIPS—the staff, faculty, my mentor, and my classmates—than I ever experienced in any college classroom. I came from law enforcement to the paralegal field, and because of the people and the classes at AIPS, I’ve been inspired to apply to law school.
Q: What is the best thing AIPS did for you?
A: AIPS has been a turning point in my life. The entire AIPS experience has given me more confidence and more self-esteem about who I am and what I can achieve. I received the assistance I needed, and AIPS is like one big family that has stood behind me on everything I did when I was at AIPS, and they have stood behind me on everything that I continue to do in my life to this day.
Q: Why did you become an alumni mentor?
A: I feel very privileged having been asked to be a mentor, because not only do I get to meet new groups of students coming in and help them become acclimated to distance learning, but I’ve developed more friendships. Some of the students I mentored from last year still e-mail me. My own mentor and I e-mail back and forth. It’s a very unique environment where the contacts are far more outreaching than everything I’ve ever had face-to-face in a classroom.
