Angela Mozzott

I attribute my success to my parents and myself. Ever since I was younger, I was very independent, and my parents always taught me that you can do anything that you believe you can do - you put your mind to it, and you'll get there. And it's true. I think that when you have a family that supports you, regardless of what your decisions are, it makes you flourish in everything that you do. When I was young, I was a preschool teacher, and my dad told me one day that he knew I loved kids and my job, but I wasn't really going to go anywhere in that field. So I started in the travel industry, and my parents backed me with that. Then when I was approaching 30, I wanted to finally fulfill that dream I always had of being in the legal field. It was scary because you're almost 30 and you're changing careers, but they've just always, always backed me and stood behind me. I think having a strong foundation and support group is extremely helpful for anybody who wants to succeed in life, no matter what it is.

I can't necessarily say that anybody's ever really given me a lot of advice regarding my career, but I would have to say that one thing I find really important is to try to just lead with integrity and compassion and strength, and to always lift each other up, no matter what your position is and who you may become in life. Just always be there for everybody around you and be that positive influence for people. The biggest thing, too, is that I always say you never know what the other person's going through, whether it's outside at a store or at work. You just don't know what people are going through, and sometimes the simplest thing of 'oh, I like your shirt' or just smiling at them could completely change whatever they were going to be doing that day. And I think that that's really just very important to me.

I hear a lot of paralegals say that their attorneys yell at them or they're nasty to them, but there are good places out there. I've been very fortunate - I've always loved where I've worked. You don't have to stay somewhere, especially if you're being mistreated. There's somewhere else that you're going to find that's going to be the perfect fit for you, and sometimes it takes a little while, you just have to keep looking. But there are really good law firms out there, there are good attorneys that do everything by the book. They're great people to work for and they have that work-life balance as well. They care - it's not just about how many hours you can put in. It's the mentality that family does come first, and if sometimes people have ups and downs in life, it's important that your employer understands that and recognizes that life happens. It's very hard when you're going through a struggle at home, and if your work is giving you a hard time too, now you're dealing with a struggle with two different parts of your life that are probably the most impactful. So that's what I would say - just keep pushing, learn as much as you can, find the proper area of law that you most connect with and that you have a passion for, and don't settle.

In the legal field, everybody's very smart, so you have a lot of strong personalities. Sometimes people have great ideas, and sometimes people don't like the ideas. So it's just being that person that's open to listening to what everybody has to say. I think because of my background, I always tell my staff that if you think that you can do something better than maybe the instructions that I'm giving, let me know. I'm always open to hear anything, and I think that that kind of helps me get past any opposition. I always say that if you have someone who's intelligent, you can teach them anything, but if they have a bad personality, you can't change that. That's why I'm so interested in getting a degree in psychology, so that I can better relate and learn how to deal with different situations, not only in work but in your personal life. As for opportunities, I want to get involved more with the Florida Registered Paralegal community. I'm trying to weigh the amount of time it's going to take because I do spend a lot of time taking care of my mom, but it's getting the word out there about what Florida Registered Paralegals are, what they do, and trying to bring some more people on board. There are also other opportunities with the Florida Registered Paralegal community where they go out and help other people or volunteer, which I would love to be able to do.

My values are very consistent between work and personal life. Education is really important to me - I love to learn. I think that when I feel like I'm not learning, I feel stuck, so I find something else that I can learn. I like to develop new skills. I like to be that person that people can come to and feel comfortable to speak with me, so problem solving is something important. I always say I lead by example - my reputation is exactly who I am, and I try every day to just be the best person that I can be. Honor is a big one for me - I have honor, and I stick with my honor. I always make sure that you do the right thing, and that people understand that and respect that as well.