MC student applies Paralegal studies to corporate law careerSeptember 12, 2024

After being out of school for 11 years, single mother Mariah Whitley decided to start Midland College’s (MC) Paralegal program when she was 29 years old.  

“My father passed away two days before my 17th birthday, right before my senior year, and I had a difficult time dealing with his death.” Whitley explained.  “I graduated from Midland High School in May of 2011 and started taking classes at Midland College the next fall, but I wasn’t very motivated.  In fact, I dropped out before the end of the semester.  Then, in 2012, I became pregnant and had my son David.  After that, I didn’t have much time for school.  I had an infant and needed to work to support our family.”

In 2018, Whitley began working at Endeavor Energy Resources, L.P. assuming various roles in the Coding department.  Then, two years ago, she was promoted to contracts administrator in Endeavor’s Legal department.  

“I was looking for other opportunities at Endeavor because I wanted to move up the career ladder,” Whitley said.  “However, I think that not having any education beyond high school hurt my chances of being considered for other positions.  Then, in the spring of 2022 Angie Bramley, the Legal Operations manager, approached me and offered me the position as contracts administrator.  Angie is a phenomenal mentor, and she is actually one of the people who encouraged me to enroll in MC’s Paralegal program.”

The other person who was instrumental in Whitley’s decision to return to school was her mother.

“I had a wonderful role model,” Whitley said.  “My mother returned to school when she was in her 40s in order to pursue Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Public Accountancy degrees.  She told me that experience is important, but a degree means a lot.”

Whitley is among a fast-growing group of adults who are going back to college in the modern world in order to pursue their academic and professional goals.  According to Indeed.com, “being older than the traditional college-age student has special benefits of maturity and life experiences, which helps people become more driven in their academic endeavors.”

Whitley admitted that most of her fellow paralegal students are focused on getting jobs with law firms.  While she said she wouldn’t rule out ever working for a law firm, right now she is really enjoying corporate law.  As Endeavor’s contracts administrator, she facilitates contract reviews and oversees contracts from inception to termination.  

“When people think of a paralegal, they are most likely envisioning someone working at a law firm taking on important behind-the-scenes legal legwork and support activities for attorneys,” she said.  “While picturing that setting is a fair assumption, it does overlook one substantial source of paralegal employment—the corporate world.  Paralegals assist an organization’s in-house legal and compliance teams on legal issues related to business interests.”

Since January 2023, Whitley has been taking MC’s online Paralegal program, and she said that because of her college courses, she now has the opportunity to investigate financial filings, draft letter responses and demand letters, and work with senior counsel on corporate transactions.  She also helps with litigation matters ensuring that details and documents are collected before going to counsel.  Whitley, along with the other three support staff in Endeavor’s Legal department, handle not only administrative tasks, such as circulating material, maintaining meeting minutes and keeping detailed legal records, but also non-administrative duties that include legal research, interviewing and drafting documents.

Whitley said that with the Endeavor/Diamondback merger, she hopes to continue to work in the Legal department and secure more opportunities outside of her role as contracts administrator.  

“I am very thankful for the experience I’ve had up to this point,” she said.  “I am also very fortunate to have been able to take advantage of Endeavor’s tuition reimbursement program.”

Besides being a hard worker and willing to learn, one of Whitley’s many assets that she brings to her job is her skill in technology, which she credits to her father who built computers.  She is a self-proclaimed “nerd” when it comes to technology and said that one of her favorite pastimes is playing video games with her son.  The two of them also have a longstanding tradition of opening new Pokemon card packs together.

Up to this point, Whitley was taking three courses each semester and maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA while working fulltime and having the many responsibilities of being a single mother.  This semester, she transitioned to taking a full course load (four courses per semester).  She is on track to receive a Legal Technician certificate in December and graduate with an Associate of Applied Science degree in May 2025.  She said that she doesn’t plan to stop there.  One of her long-term goals is to continue her higher education and pursue a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas Permian Basin in Computer Science, Political Science or Business Administration.