SamPoly Graduates Three Members of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office

SamPoly Graduates Three Members of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office

With just under a year since its launch, Sam Houston State University Polytechnic College (SamPoly) made a lasting impression on three employees of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office (MCDAO). The employees, Monica Smith, Sheri Mericle and Alexis Ferraro, graduated from SamPoly in August with certifications in Paralegal Studies.

While the trio all separately had thoughts of pursuing higher education, it was the initiative taken by Smith that led them to the program.

“My experience in and around the court system sparked my interest in learning more about the law and how everything works behind the scenes,” Smith said. “I wanted to build on my experience and create new opportunities for myself.”

That sentiment was shared with her fellow MCDAO paralegals, Mericle and Ferraro, who were only hindered by the idea that pursuing a certificate while juggling their full-time jobs and family lives would make it nearly impossible. It was after Smith relayed the information she gathered while talking to Scott Meyer, program director of Paralegal Studies at SamPoly, that her coworkers decided to join her in the program.

“Before long, the three of them were making the journey to my office together for meetings and discussions,” Meyer said. “It was clear to me that the experience had become something of a team-building exercise as well as an educational one, and their excitement was contagious.”

The thrills the three paralegals felt stemmed from the opening of possibilities for them. Having not enjoyed school throughout her childhood, Ferraro previously had no intention of continuing her education until she joined the MCDAO team. It was there that she first learned of paralegals and their role in the legal system and began to serve in that position at the entry level. Finding she enjoyed the work and wanted to solidify her career status as a paralegal, she felt the natural next step was to earn her certification.

“I researched it, but having two kids, there was no way I could go to classes, so I always pushed it off,” Ferraro said. “When Monica brought it up to me and said it was all online, I thought, ‘Okay, I can do that; I don’t have to take time away from the kids.’”

Similarly, Mericle was torn between a recent calling to further her education and her dedication to her family. As the trio went through the program, however, they found that their families were more than happy to support them. They would spend late nights completing discussion posts, then meet at their lunch table daily to go over their coursework and bounce ideas off one another.

As they advanced through the program, the connections between the materials they were studying and the things they were reviewing in the office were seamless. The more they progressed, the more their work stood out to both Meyer as their professor and District Attorney Mike Holley as their supervisor. While he has remained proud of the trio throughout the experience, Holley’s encounter with one of their daughters drove home the impact they had on those around them.

“When I’m working, I want to meet the level of effort and energy and hope that they have. I want to work well for them because, clearly, they want to do well for themselves,” he said. “I remember meeting one of their daughters at the graduation, and you could tell those young girls were looking at their mom with admiration in their eyes, inspired by their mother. That’s what I like to see, what we like to see.”

Mericle, who has worked with the MCDAO for over 25 years, felt higher education never seemed to be in the cards for her. Since going through the program, she has elevated her knowledge and confidence, and is continuing her education by stacking her credentials into an Applied Associate of Science and Paralegal Studies degree.  

“We graduated at the beginning of August and about three weeks later started the one class,” Mericle said. “I really found that I missed the schedule that I had set up. It was something different and was something that I didn’t ever think that I would ever do, and I really succeeded at it.”

She is being joined by Smith in the associate’s program, building on the credentials they have already earned and continuing to use their professional experiences to guide them through this next phase. Both acknowledge that while the coursework was challenging, they are excited to continue to push themselves and expand their knowledge. Smith is already looking to go even further, with her sights set on moving into a bachelor’s degree program following her graduation from the associate’s program.

The success of Smith, Mericle and Ferraro in the program, and Smith and Mericle’s move into the associate’s degree program provides a clear example of the workforce development and education growth opportunities that are central to SamPoly’s mission.

“SamPoly is intentionally designed to provide practical, career-focused education that working professionals can use to advance in their current profession or create a pathway to a new one,” said Clayton Cottle, assistant vice president of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.