A historic journey

Erika Reyes graduating with history degree this fall, seeking to become attorney

By California State University, Bakersfield

November 21^st, 2022

California State University, Bakersfield student Erika Reyes has harbored a love for history ever since she was in elementary school. While she’s enjoyed learning about different countries, U.S. history has always had a special place in her heart.

“My biggest crush in high school was Thomas Jefferson because I love history so much,” she said jokingly.

Reyes is now on the cusp of graduating from CSUB next month with her bachelor’s degree in history. While she is excited to graduate, she said it is bittersweet to be leaving the university.

“I’m trying to remember the fact that this is it and to enjoy every second of it,” she said. “I’m just trying to live in the moment and acknowledge the fact that I did it and I’m finally going to graduate.”

While Reyes chose to pursue history for her bachelor’s, her career goal is to become an attorney practicing immigration and family law. She has already applied to several law schools in the Southern California area.

“I want to help bring smiles to people’s faces,” she said. “I know being an attorney can be hard, but I want to take on the hard cases.”

Reyes has been interested in becoming a lawyer ever since she was in high school, seeing her parents — both from Oaxaca, Mexico — struggle for years with applying for and obtaining legal status in the U.S.

“It was heartbreaking, but it filled me with a sense of determination,” she said. “I want to be able to help others so they don’t have to go through what my parents went through.”

Reyes, the first in her family to graduate with a college degree, said her parents have been very supportive and have encouraged her to pursue her dreams.

“They have inspired me and told me ‘even though it’s hard, you can do it. You’ve got to keep moving forward,’” she said.

While she has yet to begin a formal law education, Reyes is already getting some experience in the field. Since August 2021, she has worked at the Singh Law Office in Bakersfield as a paralegal.

Her responsibilities range from taking calls and writing emails to gathering case information and filing paperwork.

“It’s been wonderful. I feel like I’m learning a lot about how to research and properly communicate with clients, court clerks and judges,” Reyes said. “I have entered a whole new world, and I absolutely love it.”

Working in the legal field can be challenging at times. While Reyes said there are great moments when she has able to help a client get what they want, there have been other times when the office is unable to achieve a favorable result despite their best efforts.

“I’ve had to learn how to take myself out of the equation and just work on paperwork,” she said. “I have to omit the emotions I might have about a case or a person and just stick to the facts.”

While she has worked at the Singh Law Office for less than two years, Attorney Inderraj Singh said Reyes has already proved to be an asset for the team.

“Erika exceeds the bar of professionalism,” he said. “She goes above and beyond to meet client expectations and ensures client satisfaction.”

'An authentic emissary of CSUB'

Beyond the challenges of the work itself, Reyes has also had to balance her full-time job with a full-time load as a CSUB student, which proved difficult at times. Reyes recalled one time when she had procrastinated on writing a paper for one of her history classes.

“I had a bit of a mental breakdown at an In-N-Out [Burger] drive-thru thinking about a Civil War paper that I knew wasn’t going to be very good, then it turned out great,” she said. “I did a lot of overthinking and had to constantly reassure myself.”

Reyes’ parents also helped give her the confidence she needed to excel at CSUB.

“After I had that breakdown, I sat down on the floor of my bedroom feeling like a failure,” she said. “They got me a blanket and some coffee and reassured me that I could do this, and I did.”

History Professor Mustafah Dhada said Reyes excelled in his classes and he expects her to accomplish great things in a future law career.

“Erika is a consistently level-headed performer, able to juggle several tasks at hand, engagingly steadfast in her personal and professional life, and driven to pursue a career in law,” Dr. Dhada said. “I am fairly confident she will be an authentic emissary of CSUB in the community. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear of her and her work in the not-too-distant future in the local public media.”

Reyes said she will always look fondly back at her experience at CSUB.

“It’s honestly an amazing school. I’ve loved being on campus and seeing everyone,” she said. “I’m thankful for CSUB and am excited to be a future alumna. I’ve learned so much, and I’m so thankful for my professors and everyone who has helped me along the way.”

After finishing law school, Reyes said she would like to come back to Bakersfield and either open up her own practice or continue working at the Singh Law Office.