Our parents often influence our career direction and help us choose the path that will allow us to reach our full potential. Some even show us the way through example. One such mother is Liane Hanson.
Hanson has been working at MATC since October 1995, almost 17 years. Currently she works as a Transcription Technician in the School of Business, Hospitality programs. This is her fourth year in the department. When Hanson started out as a part-time employee in the Division of Health Occupations, her daughter Jennifer was just starting first grade.
Jennifer is now studying at MATC. She is enrolled in a Paralegal Certificate Program. She is expecting to graduate in spring 2013. Hanson credits her mother for encouraging her to study at MATC. Once she found out the course was American Bar Assoication (ABA) approved, and that there is growth in that field, the choice was easy for her to make.
Hanson already had a degree she earned from UW-Milwaukee. She majored in Criminal Justice and minored in Psychology. Hanson had also studied two courses through MATC (Criminal investigation and Crime Prevention) during her senior year of high school.
Although this was not always her intended career path, she always enjoyed the legal and law enforcement field. Paralegal is a good fit for her, since it incorporates her interests in a career.
Hanson has been blessed with a job she really enjoys. She has been employed by Davis & Gelshenen LLP for almost a year. The firm mainly handles personal injury/real estate defense cases.
Hanson’s job entails pre-litigation and litigation tasks, which include the following: requesting accident reports, setting up claims with insurance companies, requesting medical records and bills, once new clients are retained. Hanson is also involved communicating with clients and drafting demand letters to insurance companies.
Litigation matters involve drafting the summons and complaint, writing enclosure letters to the Court, helping out with discovery documents (request for production of documents, interrogatories, request for admission, and depositions) and drafting various pleadings to the Court. She helps arrange telephone conference calls, deposition dates, meditation dates and drafts letters to clients, enclosing various settlement documents.
Hanson loves that every day of her job is different and she is able to keep expanding her knowledge base. The only downside of her job is when clients do not read the instructions correctly and return incomplete documents.
Although Hanson has only studied at two of MATC’s four campuses, she favors the Downtown Campus over Oak Creek. “I like the Milwaukee Campus because I can walk to it after work.”
The courses MATC offers are not only easy to attend, but the lessons learned are easy to transfer into practical use in your chosen field. Hanson mentions civil procedure and legal research as two courses that she has found invaluable.
Hanson had this advice to impart to fellow MATC students: “Get experience through internships or applying for a file clerk position. I think it is helpful to network with various students in the same program, because you can help each other share information and possibly land jobs in your field of study.”
I hope this inspires all students to work a little harder this semester. Jennifer Hanson is proof that an education at MATC can certainly lead to a bright future, and a fun career.
