{"id":309182,"date":"2024-10-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=309182"},"modified":"2024-10-23T17:19:34","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T17:19:34","slug":"from-enlisted-to-officer-21st-tsc-soldier-lives-army-american-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=309182","title":{"rendered":"From Enlisted to Officer: 21st TSC Soldier lives Army American Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n 1st Lt. Perla Y. Gonzalez (center) poses for a photo with her daughter, Yelis (left), Col. Katherine S. Gowel, the 21st Theater Sustainment Command SJA, after being promoted from Sgt. 1st Class during a promotion ceremony hosted on Kleber Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, Germany, on Oct. 18, 2024. Gonzalez is one of the very first noncommissioned officers to go to law school per the Army Funded Legal Education Program and then be commissioned as a judge advocate.
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\n Sgt. 1st Class Perla Y. Gonzalez stands before her daughter, Yelis, and attendees before her promotion to 1st Lt. at Kleber Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Oct. 18, 2024. Gonzalez became one of the first three enlisted Soldiers to be accepted into the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps’ Funded Legal Education Program, or FLEP, in 2021.
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\n Sgt. 1st Class Perla Y. Gonzalez (right) is promoted by her daughter, Yelis (left), to the rank of 1st Lt. during a promotion ceremony hosted at Kleber Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, Germany, on Oct. 18, 2024. Gonzalez became one of the newest Army lawyers and direct commissioned first lieutenants at the Kleber Kaserne courthouse.\u00a0\u00a0
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\n 1st Lt. Perla Y. Gonzalez poses for a photo with her daughter, Yelis, after being promoted from Sgt. 1st Class during a promotion ceremony hosted on Kleber Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, Germany, on Oct. 18, 2024. During her enlistment, Gonzalez held the military occupation specialty of a 68A, a biomedical equipment specialist.
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\n 1st Lt. Perla Y. Gonzalez (right) receives the Oath of Commissioned Officers from Col. Katherine S. Gowel (left), the 21st Theater Sustainment Command SJA, after being promoted from Sgt. 1st Class during a promotion ceremony hosted on Kleber Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, Germany, on Oct. 18, 2024. Gonzalez\u2019s long journey to become an attorney started when she graduated from the University of California-Santa Barbara with her undergrad in pre-law in 2006.
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\n Sgt. 1st Class Perla Y. Gonzalez speaks to attendees after her promotion to 1st Lt. at Kleber Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, Germany, on Oct. 18, 2024. Gonzalez became one of the first three enlisted Soldiers to be accepted into the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps’ Funded Legal Education Program, or FLEP, in 2021.
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KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany \u2013 In 2021, Sgt. 1st Class Perla Y. Gonzalez became one of the first three enlisted Soldiers to be accepted into the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General\u2019s Corps\u2019 Funded Legal Education Program, or FLEP. On Oct. 18, 2024, Gonzalez became one of the newest Army lawyers and direct commissioned first lieutenants at the Kleber Kaserne courthouse.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez\u2019s long journey to become an attorney started when she graduated from the University of California-Santa Barbara with her undergrad in pre-law in 2006. In 2013, Gonzalez was inspired by her husband, Jose Pantoja, to join the Army, however, she had to join as an enlisted Soldier because she didn\u2019t have her U.S. citizenship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always knew I wanted to go to law school since my undergrad, but I didn\u2019t have a way to pay for it, so I joined the Army,\u201d said Gonzalez. \u201cMy husband was prior service. He had an amazing experience, so I wanted to try it.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her enlistment, Gonzalez held the military occupation specialty of a 68A, a biomedical equipment specialist. Gonzalez figured she would choose the medical field because her experience could easily transfer over into the civilian world.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez said that despite how much she loved her job, law school was always in the back of her mind, so much so that she started the expiration term of service process to separate from the military in 2020 to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer.<\/p>\n

That year, fate came in the form of her previous commander calling her to inform her that Noncommissioned Officers could now apply for the FLEP. Gonzalez was informed in July that the packets were due in November, so she initially had doubts that she could make the deadline. Not only had she not taken any Law School Admission Tests (LSATs), but she was also in the middle of completing her master\u2019s degree, and homeschooling her daughter, Yelis, during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like there is no way I\u2019m going to make it into the program, I don\u2019t think I have any chance,\u201d said Gonzalez. \u201c[My commander] said \u2018If you don\u2019t even try, then you will really not have any chance.\u2019 So, I got on a study program to take the LSATs, I got all of my transcripts, I got my interview, and I sent my packet the day it was due. It was a long time coming, it had always been my goal to be a lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was more than just gathering and filling out paperwork for Gonzalez to be accepted into the program. She overcame numerous challenges, a big one being the outbreak of COVID-19. Aside from paying out of pocket to take the LSAT, Gonzalez had to take it online, but on a specific IP address that helps prevent cheating.<\/p>\n

To meet this requirement, Gonzalez paid for a flight from Vilseck, Germany, where she was stationed at the time, to Houston, Texas to take her LSAT to make sure her IP addressed matched her physical location. Gonzalez explained how she took her test in a hotel room and flew back to Germany the next day.<\/p>\n

Another challenge Gonzalez overcame was finding Army JAG personnel to conduct her FLEP interview. Being from the medical field, Gonzalez didn\u2019t know any JAG personnel, so she had to call different offices for assistance. Despite being told the FLEP was only for JAG Soldiers,<\/p>\n

Gonzalez continued to push to reach her goal.<\/p>\n

Even after being accepted into law school, Gonzalez faced new challenges. Being the only parent among a class of law students in their 20s, Gonzalez initially felt like she couldn\u2019t keep up as she didn\u2019t have the same amount of time to study as her child-free classmates.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaw school has so many very bright people,\u201d said Gonzalez. \u201cThey were super prepared, and they would be answering questions left and right, and I was like oh my God, I don\u2019t know if I can make it, I don\u2019 t know if this is for me. But when the grades came out, your confidence increases because you\u2019re like ok I do belong here, and my grades showed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gonzalez\u2019s sheer grit and determination paid off, and today she can finally say that she has accomplished her long-term goal of becoming an attorney.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I learned at the end is it\u2019s not a competition with your peers, it\u2019s not what everyone else is doing, it\u2019s what you\u2019re doing,\u201d said Gonzalez. \u201cYou have to push yourself and you can only compare yourself to how you were yesterday, today and how you\u2019re going to be tomorrow. It\u2019s you against you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Col. Katherine S. Gowel, the 21st Theater Sustainment Command SJA, conducted Gonzalez\u2019s commissioning ceremony, and then her Oath of Commissioned Officers.<\/p>\n

\u201c[She is] one of the very first NCOs to go to law school per the Army Funded Legal Education Program and then be commissioned as a judge advocate,\u201d said Gowel. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty exciting. It\u2019s history making and it\u2019s awesome. We are lucky we get to witness it.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the commissioning ceremony, Gowel spoke of Gonzalez\u2019s journey from moving to the United States as a teenager to where she is now, calling her story the \u201cArmy American Dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re an officer and a judge advocate, you\u2019re a dual professional,\u201d said Gowel. \u201cAs an officer, you\u2019re an expert at leadership, decision making and advising commanders. As an attorney, you\u2019re going to be a legal advisor, supervising paralegals and representing Soldiers as a legal assistance attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that she has finally completed her goal of becoming an attorney, Gonzalez said she is excited to start her position at the Kleber Legal Assistance Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest with you I am not nervous,\u201d said Gonzalez. \u201cI am actually very excited because I love what I do. I am looking forward to getting my clients and doing my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

For anyone who is thinking about applying for the FLEP, or any other self-improvement program, Gonzalez\u2019s advice is to go for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor all the leadership, it\u2019s very important to support your Soldiers because you don\u2019t know how far they can go,\u201d said Gonzalez. \u201cAnd for the Soldiers, you have to believe in yourself and do the work, because if you love the Army, the Army will love you back.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about the JAG Corps and the FLEP, contact your installation legal office or visit https:\/\/www.jagcnet.army.mil\/GoArmyJAG\/Funded-Legal-Education-Program<\/p>\n

See Gonzalez\u2019s previous story from 2021 here: https:\/\/www.army.mil\/article-amp\/243136\/once_homeless_nco_gets_rare_shot_to_attend_law_school_under_army_program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 1st Lt. Perla Y. Gonzalez (center) poses for a photo with her daughter, Yelis (left), Col. Katherine S. Gowel, the 21st Theater Sustainment Command SJA, after being promoted from Sgt. 1st Class during a promotion ceremony hosted on Kleber Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, Germany, on Oct. 18, 2024. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309184,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-309182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=309182"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":309191,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309182\/revisions\/309191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/309184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=309182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=309182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=309182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}