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The Birth Of My Court Reporting Passion

Last week I got to visit my alma mater - South Coast College of Court Reporting.  Jean Gonzalez, the president of SCC, did a little write up about me on her blog, so I thought I'd return the favor plus up the ante by posting a snapshot below.
 
South Coast College of Court Reporting - My Early Childhood Memories
When I began court reporting school back in, oh, let's say -- last century -- 1993 to be exact, I chose South Coast College as my training ground.  As a student I never regretted the choice.  As a licensed professional now in my ninth year in the court reporting field, I have never regretted the choice either. 

As readers of this blog will know, I go around to a lot of court reporting schools.  I go around to pump up the court reporting students.  I try to tell them that court reporting is a great profession and that they need to focus on getting out of school and into the depo chair.  (Or court room chair).  I'm very passionate about this field and I think a lot of that passion is  a direct result of Jean Gonzalez' passion.  Whether it's honing her own theory textbook known as Roberts Walsh Gonzalez, or running a private court reporting college since before God was a boy (as my mother from Oklahoma might quip), or being a powerful advocate for the court reporting profession -- I can say that I definitely did chose the right school back in '93.
 
 
They Say Court Reporting School Attendance Is Down?
Take a look at this picture >>>>>>> 

I took this picture of a vehicle WITHOUT handicap tags parked WITHIN a handicap parking space.  This photo was taken by me while visiting South Coast College.  Their parking lot was packed to the gills.  Just so you know, they have a rather large parking lot (forgot to take a snapshot of that though) -- room for probably 300+ cars.  And not one legitimate space was available to this able-bodied person in the gas hogging SUV. 

Okay, I'm the able-bodied gas hog.  It's my car in the photo. 

The custodian was directing traffic when I arrived for my visit to South Coast College -- he TOLD me to park there.  I felt bad but he said it'd be okay.  I had to confess it here on this blog.  They say court reporting schools are on the decline?  Judging by this full house, not here it isn't!
 

03/10/2008

Author
Todd Olivas

Todd Olivas is a court reporter and entrepreneur.
He founded TO&A in 2003.

  Comment by Michelle | 06/10/2008
<P>This message is for Todd-</P><P>I am a court reporting student at South Coast College, currently on a year long break after having my daughter. I had been in school for 1 1/2 yrs and was at 120 wpm when I left. Right now I am at a fork in the road between returning to SCC or Cal State Fullerton, and I am looking for some guidance. I am nervous about how long school takes and hitting a wall at a high speed and being stuck forever. My family tells me at least college is a sure thing.. and they worry about the changes in technology. I did read your blog regarding future voice recognition. I don`t personally know anyone that is a CR. I know you are very busy, but if you have a moment, please email me at MHolmes425@yahoo.com. I would love any mentoring or encouragement you could provide. </P><P>Thank you so much</P>
  Comment by Todd Olivas | 06/11/2008
<P>Dear Michelle,</P><P>Thank you for writing and congratulations on your new daughter!&nbsp; While I can`t speak specifically to your personal situation, I can definitely say that FOR ME, this profession saved my life.&nbsp; I struggled with that same dilemma that you mentioned... regular college is a sure thing.&nbsp; You spend your time there, put in the required credit/hours, and they give you a degree.&nbsp; Not so for court reporting. It`s a self-paced program that depends on the individual`s own drive and motivation.&nbsp; Here is a little list of things that you should be doing in order to get out of school quickly:</P><P>•I will show up for school.&nbsp; Everyday.<BR>•I will review my theory daily.<BR>•I will type every test no matter what.<BR>•I will start a practice club with some friends on weekends.&nbsp; <BR>•I will allow other people to hold me accountable for monitoring my distractions.<BR>•I will (if at all possible) enroll in both day and night programs.&nbsp; <BR>•I will find a mentor, be a mentor…</P><P>Also, if you are having doubts about anything, please have a meeting with Jean Gonzalez the President of South Coast College.&nbsp; She is an awesome educator and motivator and I`m sure she can steer you right!</P><P>Best of luck!</P><P>-Todd</P>
  Comment by Jean Gonzalez | 07/01/2008
<P>With preparing for our accreditation visit, I didn`t have a chance to view your write up of your South Coast College visit. Thanks for the kind words. I want to link the blog you wrote to our blog. How do I do that?</P><P>P.S. I just saw Robert Short today. I want to get both of you on our advisory board.</P>
  Comment by Todd | 07/01/2008
<P>Jean, you could include HTML code like the following into your page:</P><P><BR><TEXTAREA rows=1 cols=50>&lt;A href=http://www.toddolivas.com/&gt;Court reporting&lt;/A&gt;</TEXTAREA></P><P>(Just copy and paste that code)</P><P>Thank you!</P><P>-Todd</P>
  Comment by Susan Ricker | 07/22/2010
I LOVE your blog! I`ve been checking in from time to time, between Court Reporting classes and my job, and do not get to it as often as I`d like - so I`m apologizing in advance if you have already answered this quesiton.<BR><BR>I`m at 190 Q/A and think I`m finally ready to invest in a laptop (I`ve been working on a desktop, both at home and at school). This is a big investment for me and I want to get it right.<BR><BR>Any suggestions? Things/features/etc. you would really suggest making sure you have? <BR><BR>Thanks!<BR><BR>Suze
  Comment by Todd | 07/22/2010
Hi, Susan. Thanks for stopping by! I would suggest you head on over to <A href=http://www.readback.org/>http://www.readback.org</A> which is my Q&A website. There is a great bunch of reporters on there would can answer your question in a jiffy.
  Comment by Ashley P | 08/04/2010
Hello:)<BR>I stumbled across your blog on readback.org and I`m so glad I found it. Im in my 6th week of my first semester as a court reporting student. I look forward to reading your blogs and staying motivated throughout this process! I`m so excited! Thanks again :)
  Comment by Todd Olivas | 08/04/2010
Thank you, Ashley! Keep up the motivation!!
  Comment by Susan | 04/17/2011
I am a scopist/proofreader/transcriptionist and I am seriously considering going back to CR/captioning school. However, it seems that everyone that I have approached in So. California with respect to my plan has some negativity to share about the industry and the direction that it seems to be taking. I`m very discouraged at the moment and feeling very lost. I`ve found several programs that are online which is what I would need but I`m afraid of investing financially in furthering a career that everyone seems to be telling me is becoming obsolete. Even if that were true on some level of CR, I honestly don`t see how it could be possible for captioning?CART but people have some pretty negative things to say about that as well. I really find myself at a loss as to what to do. I hope someone will respond with some positivity because it`s just all so discouraging.
  Comment by Theresa Phillips-Blackwell | 01/31/2013
Hi, Todd. I know you won`t remember me, but I also attended South Coast College, and you were actually my teacher in 120s. Anyway, I`ve been reporting now since 2002, and it`s been a great career for me.


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