Althea Wroblewska - About Me

Biography

I was born on September 28, 1978, which makes me 23 at the time of writing. I had a very unique upbringing, as it exposed me to many different cultures, languages and countries. But by far, the most advantageous aspect of my childhood was the fact that I was brought up learning 4 languages at once (English, Polish, German and Russian). The ability to speak so many languages came in handy on many occasions, and became a very important ability when I worked as a legal secretary, because it allowed me to translate legal documents to English.

I grew up cultivating many interests, and was very socially active throughout my High School and University education. Apart from loving to travel, I used to play volleyball professionally, write short stories, read lots of books, paint and draw, and ride horses. Although I do far less of these things nowadays, I still do a fair bit of drawing and paining in my spare time, as I find it a perfect way to relax. And if I am lucky, I'll get a chance to go on short trips to other countries, or simply travel around the UK visiting the country's numerous castles.

While I was still in High School, I took as many honors and advanced placement (AP's) classes as I possibly could, with the exception of Chemistry (I don't like chemistry), and Biology (seminars clashed with those of my Physics AP class). However, to make up for the loss of the Biology AP class, I enrolled at University of Pennsylvania's (UPENN) Biology summer course, and finished it before going into my last year at Upper Darby High School. That experience was well worth it, as it taught me what I'd otherwise would have missed in Biology, and it exposed me to UPENN's education system before I even graduated from High School. I was the only High School student enrolled on that course and it allowed me to mingle with real university students and see what university life would be like for me in a year's time.

At the same time as I was learning Biology 101 (a year's worth of information conveyed to students in the course of 6 weeks - very intensive!), I also worked as a volunteer in the Biochemistry and Biophysics lab at UPENN. This exposed me to working with post-graduate students, whose outlook on life and education very much influenced my future career goals in a positive way. I was glad to see that a person's hard work could pay off in the future, provided that you stuck with your education.

After graduating from High School, I went on to do my undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice at Saint Joseph's University. It was a huge leap from all the AP Calculus, Physics, Biology and Biochem/Biophys, which I exposed myself to during High School. Although I was always good at sciences, my heart just wasn't in them, and so I chose to become a criminal lawyer. However, throughout the first 6 months of my 1st year at university, I was still working at UPENN, but this time in a Biology lab extracting plant DNA and doing general research. It was very hard for me to study full-time and work part-time, and so I eventually gave up on work and concentrated on my studies.

During the summer break, following my first year of university, I got a job at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in cancer research. I learned how to extract human DNA and RNA, and do lots of other useful lab-things, but this job had nothing to do with Criminal Law. Again, it was something I was very good at, but not something that would benefit my legal studies. However, the money I have earned during my months at CHOP saw me through a year's study abroad in London.

Although it was Saint Joseph's University's (SJU's) policy to only allow 3th and 4th year students to study abroad, an exception was made for me based on my excellent academic report and excellent references I have received from my lecturers. For a year I attended Birkbeck College (BBK) in London, and it was by far, the best year of my university education. I had excellent teachers, I lived in a lovely place in Kensington, and I had made friends with many students from all over the UK.

While I was at BBK, I learned of University of Abertay, Dundee, which was the only higher education institution in the UK to offer an undergraduate Forensic Psychobiology course. Pleased with the idea of being able to combine my work-experience in the medical field with my education in law, I enrolled on that course and received an unconditional acceptance. However, before I was able to move up to Dundee, I had to go back to the US, get another summer job, and earn more money to be able to support myself throughout another university year.

This time I got myself a job as a floating legal secretary working for Dilworth Paxson LLP in Philadelphia. Finally it was a job that was related to what I was studying and it proved to be a real hands-on experience. I carried out a variety of tasks, and also worked on projects. This was a job which allowed me to make some use of my language skills, as I was translating documents from Polish into English. However, one of my placements took me into criminal litigation, and that is where I saw what a hectic life it is to be a criminal litigation lawyer. That was when I realised that this was also something I ultimately aimed for via BA in Criminal Justice and law school. In real life it is not anything like what you see on TV, and that came in as a bit of a shock to me. It sure made me think about what I really wanted to do this for the rest of my life.

The best thing anyone can do for themselves is to keep their options open. I had my Criminal Law background, and then tried myself in the field of Forensic Psychobiology. However, I ran out of funds very quickly and was unable to continue my education up in Dundee, so I transferred back to SJU and finished my BA degree there in 2001. I am very glad that I did all this study abroad while I was at university, and even more glad that I finished off my CJ degree at SJU. If I ever choose to (or have the money to do so), I can always go back to Dundee and finish my Forensic degree there. I only have 3 more years to go! But with my CJ degree I can either go on to law school and become a lawyer, or work for the FBI, join the police force, and do all other kinds of useful jobs.

Since I have finished my CJ degree, I have moved to the UK and started the CPE course at London Guildhall University. I thought that if I can't become a lawyer in the US, I could try and become a solicitor in the UK. However, along the way I put myself through a paralegal course, because I thought that it might prove useful some day. If anything, it will always be that extra bit of training that might come in handy when I become a fully qualified solicitor.

Education:

Upper Darby High School, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, USA, 1997
Saint Joseph's University, BA in Criminal Justice with a minor in English, graduated with honors, (1st class degree), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 2001
CPE in law (UK equivalent to US law school), London Guildhall University, London, United Kingdom, 2001-
Paralegal Training Certificate, Morsley College, London, United Kingdom 2002

Professional Organizations:

National Association of Paralegals (UK), Member
National Paralegal Association (US), Member

Paralegals must maintain confidentiality at all times!