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During the early days of COVID-19, Kathleen Martinez 鈥�13 was stuck at home longing to practice law 鈥� specifically, immigration law. She earned a law degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego and became interested in immigration law while in Mount Saint Mary鈥檚 pre-law program where she met several DACA recipients and Dreamers. 鈥淚鈥檒l admit I knew absolutely nothing about immigration until I got to the Mount,鈥� says Martinez.

Martinez hit the books, taught herself immigration law, and established Martinez Immigration, a virtual law firm specializing in immigration law. 鈥淏ecause immigration is federal law it allows me to essentially service people in all 50 states, even though I am licensed in Texas,鈥� she says.

In July 2021, she had 100 clients. Today she has about 600. Martinez owes this meteoric increase to her presence on . To generate excitement for her nascent firm, Martinez created short informational videos on immigration law. 鈥淎 video can go viral and hit 8 million views in three hours. That鈥檚 how I got a lot of my clients,鈥� says Martinez. 

Born in Oregon, Martinez initially attended Oregon State. There she became interested in health care policy. However, OSU was not a good fit for her. 鈥淚t was a big university, and I was lost,鈥� says Martinez. Eventually, a friend introduced her to Mount Saint Mary鈥檚. 鈥淪he told me it might be a better option for me. I鈥檇 get one-on-one attention from my professors. I also wasn鈥檛 upset about coming to perfect weather and living in LA,鈥� says Martinez.

Martinez took to the Mount immediately. She found the faculty accessible and the classes small, providing a more personalized experience. 鈥淎t the time that was what I needed,鈥� she says. One of her Mount professors, Helen Boutrous, JD, PhD, the Mount鈥檚 pre-law director, says her program allows faculty to spend time with each individual student. 鈥淚t creates bonds and makes for a wonderful educational experience. That鈥檚 a great benefit to the students,鈥� says Boutrous.

Boutrous encouraged Martinez to participate in moot court, a competition that simulates a court hearing. 鈥淚 started doing moot court to get experience speaking in public,鈥� says Martinez. In the process, she fell in love with the competitions and Boutrous鈥� program. 鈥淚 did well in law school because of her,鈥� says Martinez.

The Mount鈥檚 pre-law program is designed to ensure that Mount students thrive in law school. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want them to have any surprises when they get to law school,鈥� Boutrous explains. 鈥淚 want them to have experienced everything law school throws at them but within the Mount environment.鈥�

From the moment Martinez met those DACA recipients and Dreamers at the Mount, she wanted to help them. 鈥淚 wanted to take what I learned from Dr. Boutrous and the pre-law program at the Mount to help people like my classmates,鈥� says Martinez. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what led me to be an immigration attorney.

"I am so thankful to the school that gave me my career.鈥�