Cassie Adams, 2018 Political Science graduate, during her study abroad in Seoul.
“You never know what might inspire you”
Cassie Adams began her Boise State education with a brief thought of becoming an immigration attorney. But realizing she didn’t want to go to law school – at least not now – she explored other ways to positively impact the lives of others. This search led her to a career as an immigration paralegal in Dallas, Texas.
“After I graduated, I made a checklist of what I wanted out of my first job and my career,” she said. “I wanted to do something in the international area, with international people, I wanted to help people, and I wanted to specialize my knowledge in a specific field. Becoming an immigration paralegal checked all these boxes for me.”
While immigration paralegal may not seem like the most likely career path for a Political Science graduate, Adams finds that her studies prepared her well. “The reading, writing, research, and learning how to connect the dots in the plethora of course class material was great practice,” she said.
She was also challenged by the experiential learning opportunities offered at Boise State, including working as a research assistant with Dr. Nisha Bellinger. “Becoming her research assistant helped push me to increase my research skills by researching difficult topics that I might not have normally chosen for myself,” she said.
Adams came to Boise State from the “one stoplight” town of Saint Anthony in eastern Idaho, but has always enjoyed connecting with international people who have different cultures and backgrounds. With this in mind, she took advantage of an opportunity to study abroad, spending a semester studying International Relations at Korea University in Seoul. Although her international experience was challenging and out of her comfort zone, Adams found her ability to adapt to difficult circumstances to be a confidence booster.
Adams encourages current Boise State Students to study and research issues by looking at them from more than one angle and to get involved in things that matter. “It’s important to get out of your comfort zone,” she said. “You never know what might inspire you.”