In 1993, Stephanie began volunteering at the Monday evening Legal Clinic at Brooke Elementary School in Austin. The Clinic is sponsored by Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas (VLS) and Legal Aid of Central Texas. The training was co-sponsored by the Capital Area Paralegal Association (CAPA). CAPA has worked with the VLS for over five years to provide paralegal support with the intake of applicants at the Evening Clinics. When a second weekly program started at Mendez Middle School in the Fall of 1994, Stephanie recruited and scheduled the volunteer paralegals for that clinic. In 1995, she began coordinating the scheduling for both clinics.
Stephanie recalls talking with a Vietnamese woman who spoke very little English. Stephanie felt a connection with her and they were able to communicate in spite of the language barrier. Another fond memory is of a grandmother who came to the clinic requesting help to obtain custody of her grandchild whose parents were serving jail sentences. Stephanie relayed how touched she was by this grandmothers desire to get custody of not only her grandchild but a second child unrelated to her by blood, because this child had no family to provide a home. Stephanie cites this grandmother as a shining example of a world filled with good people regardless of economic level.
Stephanie said her most frustrating experience is the lack of funding given to legal aid services. With the end of federal funding, many services to the poor can no longer be offered. It is heartbreaking to see and know that people who need simple services [e.g., adoption, emancipation] are being left behind.
Working at the clinic has been a rewarding experience for Stephanie. She enjoys meeting people who appreciate what she does and the positive difference she makes in other peoples lives. Stephanie credits her volunteer activities with improving her people skills. She said volunteering has boosted my ability to interview people, my ability to listen and retain information, my comfort level in shifting gears quickly, my self esteem is higher and my knowledge that just a little effort on my part makes a big difference for others makes the time spent very worthwhile.
If Stephanie could trade places with anyone in the world for one day, she would choose Oprah Winfrey. I would like to see what it would be like to be able to do anything because you have the capital, the political clout and the press to support it. Stephanie enjoys any documentary by Bill Moyers and Ally McBeal. Favorite movies include Gone with the Wind and The Full Monty. Stephanie has some peculiar hobbies such as collecting soil and sand samples and playing slap-a-spice-girl on the internet but also loves gardening, reading and quilting. She would like her headstone to read: Sister Stephanie loved God and was a peacemaker; it seems most fitting.