UPDATES!!!

Hello, Fellow Steno Nerds!

It's been way too long since I've given an update... and a lot has happened!  I have good things to share! :)

Biggest one is...

I QUALIFIED TO TAKE THE JULY 19TH CSR EXAM!!!  WOO HOO!!!  I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH COURT REPORTING SCHOOL!!!  I DID IT!!!  I FINALLY ACCOMPLISHED MY GOAL!!! :D :D :D

 After a long, long time -- because of my awesome, supportive husband, family and friends, with GOD's help and the burning passion HE placed in my heart about stenography years ago, and my perseverance and never-say-die optimistic bulldog stubbornness -- I passed the Qualifier TWICE (so far!) from Downey Adult School's Court Reporting Program.  First time was on April 25th and second time was on May 7th.  There were a handful of other times when I missed passing it a third time by a few points... darn!  There's still a few weeks before the July 19th CSR exam date, and my goal is to pass at least one more Qualifier by then.  Let's see if I can do it!  If not, though, I'm really happy and satisfied that I was able to get two under my belt! :)

At DAS, we have a total of SIX newly qualified students who will take the CSR for the first time, myself included.  I'm blessed to be able to go to the LA CSR with an awesome bunch of great gals!  BIG CONGRATS to Joanne, Caryn, Michelle, Mindee, and Allison.  Let's see who else will qualify before the deadline for this upcoming CSR exam!  Hopefully, lots more will join us! :)

 Other awesome news...

I won a $500 scholarship!!!  It was given by the Woman's Club of Downey, and I received it on June 5th.  What's amazing about this is I never even thought of applying for a scholarship since I'm exiting out of the program.  But my awesome teacher and court reporting director, Cindy, encouraged me to apply anyway, so I did... and they chose me!  That same week that I wrote my personal statement, I was stressing out big time about having to soon upgrade into a professional steno machine AND a professional CAT software... which cost approximately $5,000 EACH!!!  GOD totally provided by giving me this scholarship! :) It's not the full amount of what I need, but, hey, $500 is better than 0! :) I'll gladly take it! ;)

The women at DWC were soooooooooooooooo friendly and cute!  It seems their club exists simply to raise funds so that they can give back to the community.  How awesome are they???

Click here for the article about the scholarship ceremony on June 5th.  The same article will be printed next week in Downey's "The Patriot" newspaper.  I'm getting loads of copies!  Haha!  

DWC chose one student each from Downey High School, Warren High School, and Downey Adult School to award these annual scholarships to.  The high school grads will be attending Harvard and UCLA respectively this fall.  I, of course, plan to work as a freelance depo reporter in the fall... given I have my CSR license by then. :) The young lady in the blue dress (see pic below) won a recurring scholarship, which DWC renewed every year!  She just graduated from Brigham Young University and came to the scholarship ceremony to give her thanks.  The lady in the red is the immediate past president and the lady in the cream pant suit is the immediate past secretary.

 The Woman's Club of Downey Foundation board members, Linda Dong and Shirlee MacDowel.

I really wish I had applied to many more scholarships in the past!  You will always get a "no" if you never submit... but if you do submit, you have a chance... and you just might be the winner!  Lesson learned.

So yeah, good news all around... I can't complain! :) THANK GOD FOR ALL THESE BLESSINGS!!! :D Right now I'm keeping busy with trying to hone in my nerves and tighten my skills for the July 19th CSR exam.  Right after that, I'll be studying for the WKT (written knowledge test AKA academics) portion of the CSR exam.  So study, study, study... then hopefully, by the end of the year, I'll have my CSR license!  If not, though, I will NOT sweat it... because another CSR exam test is roughly 3 months away... and I'll keep taking that sucka' until I pass it!  No worries! :) Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers for the CSR exam... and if you have any tips for the big day, please let me know!!!  THANKS! :)