Dallas College

Student Experience: Rosa M. Berdeja

“I’ve just always wanted to go to law school, but I wasn’t able to start it right away. Going through the Paralegal program worked great for me to get into the legal field before I could go to law school. It also helped to confirm that law really is the right career for me. 

“Law just makes sense to me, and it’s taken me a while to realize that not all people have the ability to see how the law applies to a certain situation. I thought that law just made sense to everyone. “I love being a paralegal; no day is ever boring. I never know what’s going to hit me when I walk through the door in the morning. And I’m always learning new things.

“The best thing about my paralegal education was that it prepared me to go on to get my bachelor’s degree. Even if I hadn’t gone forward with my education, though, I could have done a lot with just my associate degree. I was working for a large law firm while I was in the program and I got a promotion as soon as I got my associate degree. 

“I would absolutely recommend El Centro’s Paralegal program. It gave me a great education and prepared me well for the workplace. The professors were great, and I got to meet a lot of people. The job I have now is because of contacts I made in El Centro’s Paralegal program. My associate degree also prepared me to go further in my education — to go on and earn a bachelor’s degree and to go to law school.” 

Rose Berdeja earned an associate degree in El Centro’s Paralegal program in 2000, then earned a bachelor’s degree in applied arts and sciences from the University of North Texas. She is targeted to graduate from Texas Wesleyan University’s Law School, where she serves as co-president of the Hispanic Law Student Association. She has worked as a paralegal at Locke Lord Bissell and Liddell, primarily at its Fort Worth location, since 2006.


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Karen Kenebrew

Karen Kenebrew

Writer and mediator
“The program not only fulfilled my CE requirements but also motivated me to seek postgraduate degrees in alternative dispute resolution/conflict resolution. The instructors have a wealth of experience and are passionate about the industry, which translates well in the classroom and adds to the learning experience.”
Conflict Management
Joyce Jones

Joyce Jones

Assistant Executive Director Dispute Mediation Services
“My experience at community college taught me baby steps, which led to giant steps. Not everybody can succeed at first in a four-year university. My best advice is to stay focused. Anybody can get off track, but try to find your way back. I did.”
Criminal Justice
John Tinsley

John Tinsley

Patrol Officer Rockwall Police Department
“It was a good experience to have officers with experience tell us how it was going to be on the street. I loved my time at the police academy. Sometimes my friends and I joke that if they told us we had to be back at the academy tomorrow, we’d all show up at 8 a.m. and be happy to be there.”
Criminal Justice
Giovanna Salazar

Giovanna Salazar

Dallas College student and hopeful future border patrol officer
“I like that my professors don’t just have academic knowledge but have a working background in all different fields. It brings more interest to our classes and we get to have a much better idea of what we’ll be up against in the future in our careers.”
Criminal Justice
Rosa Berdeja
Rosa M. Berdeja
Paralegal, Locke Lord Bissell and Liddell Texas Wesleyan University Law School student
Paralegal
School of Law and Public Service
Updated September 22, 2026