One of Extension's Rising Stars

Michele Setzer — Third time’s the charm for Riverside County’s Paralegal of the Year

When Michele Setzer’s two sons finished college, Michele gathered up her family and made an announcement.

"Mom now gets to do what I’ve always wanted to do," Michele declared.

That meant fulfilling her lifelong dream to work in law.

This year, Michele was awarded "Paralegal of the Year" by her employer, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

Michele’s job as a paralegal is her third career and she’s relatively new to it. She graduated from UCR Extension’s ABA-approved Paralegal Certificate Program in December of 2006 and has been working for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office ever since.

The third time’s the charm.

Both Michele and her supervisor, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Elaina Bentley, attribute Michele’s professional success to the knowledge she gained in the paralegal program at UCR Extension.

"UCR Extension prepared her with the knowledge to be very effective at her job," Elaina said. "She has just excelled in her assignments."

"I was searching for a paralegal program that made sense," Michele recalled. "Cost was a factor as well. Despite all the rhetoric about online programs, I chose UCR Extension. The ABA approval was essential."

As a child, waking up early mornings to help the family’s Illinois dairy farm, Michele envisioned herself as a lawyer. But life had other plans – providing her first with two careers.

Michele began her professional life as a maternal-child nurse specializing in pediatrics and high risk obstetrics. She studied and trained as an R.N. at Freeport Memorial Hospital in Freeport, Illinois, ultimately earning her Bachelor of Science in Registered Nursing at University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. While working as a nurse, she decided to go into nursing education, so she went back to school and earned her M.S. in Education from the University of Southern California.

After Michele had her sons, she switched gears, moving out of the hospital environment and into home health nursing. The flexibility afforded her more time with her children. When her sons went to school, so did Michele, volunteering at their schools. That developed into her second career as a school library assistant. Michele helped open the new library at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, where she worked until her sons finished college.

Michele first considered law school, but decided she didn’t want to spend years to earn a law degree. So she opted to become a paralegal.

"Paralegals are highly respected in the DA’s Office," Michele said. "We’re asked for our opinions. We’re listened to. We’re not attorneys and we’re not secretaries. We have our own unique job."

Michele initially interned with the District Attorney’s office before she earned her certificate, which took her a little more than two years to complete. That internship led to the job she has today, working with 32 fellow paralegals and helping to assist 244 attorneys.

She loves her job and brings innovation to her work. She created an electronic appellate report, which summarizes opinions from key cases into a brief and understandable synopsis. She suggested, and then helped create, a two-day writing academy for her fellow paralegals. She has been maintaining more than 1 million pages of court documentation involving a 17-year, ongoing federal case.

Time and time again, Michele has proven that education is the key to continued professional success.