By: Sister Rosanne Caiazzo, SC
I am a Sister of Charity of New Jersey and currently work at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina. I came to North Carolina five years ago to work with Hispanic parishioners at Shallote's St. Brendan’s Church and, after having participated in my first CLINIC webinar one year ago, I am a webinar junkie.
Our parish offers classes in citizenship and when the pastor asked me to assist students in the application process--I did some research. I soon learned about the legal nature of immigration forms and the potential serious consequences for the applicant because of faulty advice or poor direction. With this knowledge, I decided to familiarize myself with immigration law so that I could more competently assist our students. I learned about BIA accreditation and, thankfully, I was introduced to CLINIC.
When the first e-learning course was offered in June, 2011, I was eager for the opportunity to delve deeper into a topic, the first being family-based immigration. The course proved to be beyond my expectations. I have since participated in three other e-learning courses, each with a different team of instructors, and each providing me with a firm base of information, resources and practical applications of the knowledge learned in the course.
I find the e-learning site to be user-friendly, well organized and easy to navigate. The courses are designed with assigned weekly reading materials and problem-solving exercises which are then discussed in the following week’s webinar. Some of the readings are chapters from CLINIC’s manuals which can be printed out and become a source of reference in your own library. Other readings are actual court cases or citations from the law. The exercises offer the opportunity to analyze, strategize and then apply your learning to actual cases. There is opportunity to “discuss” pertinent topics with other students if you wish... and all this in the comfort of your own office or living room!
The instructors are experienced immigration attorneys and each one possesses the rare ability to present complicated concepts in a clear, intelligible and practical manner.
I can attest that CLINIC's e-learning courses are an excellent preparation for beginners in this very complex field and, I daresay, even experienced workers will be challenged.
I highly recommend CLINIC’S e-learning courses. The experience is extremely worthwhile.
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