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In 2021, Sgt. 1st Class Perla Y. Gonzalez became one of the first three enlisted Soldiers to be accepted into the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps’ Funded Legal Education Program, or FLEP. On Oct. 18, Gonzalez became one of the newest Army lawyers and direct commissioned first lieutenants at the Kleber Kaserne courthouse.
Gonzalez’s long journey to become an attorney started when she graduated from the University of California — Santa Barbara with her undergrad in pre-law in 2006. In 2013, Gonzalez was inspired by her husband, Jose Pantoja, to join the Army, however, she had to join as an enlisted Soldier because she didn’t have her U.S. citizenship.
“I always knew I wanted to go to law school since my undergrad, but I didn’t have a way to pay for it, so I joined the Army,” said Gonzalez. “My husband was prior service. He had an amazing experience, so I wanted to try it.”
During her enlistment, Gonzalez held the military occupation specialty of a 68A, a biomedical equipment specialist. Gonzalez figured she would choose the medical field because her experience could easily transfer over into the civilian world.
Gonzalez said that despite how much she loved her job, law school was always in the back of her mind, so much so that she started the expiration term of service process to separate from the military in 2020 to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer.
That year, fate came in the form of her previous commander calling her to inform her that Noncommissioned Officers could now apply for the FLEP. Gonzalez was informed in July that the packets were due in November, so she initially had doubts that she could make the deadline. Not only had she not taken any Law School Admission Tests, but she was also in the middle of completing her master’s degree, and homeschooling her daughter, Yelis, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was like there is no way I’m going to make it into the program, I don’t think I have any chance,” said Gonzalez. “[My commander] said ‘If you don’t even try, then you will really not have any chance.’ So, I got on a study program to take the LSATs, I got all of my transcripts, I got my interview, and I sent my packet the day it was due. It was a long time coming, it had always been my goal to be a lawyer.”
It was more than just gathering and filling out paperwork for Gonzalez to be accepted into the program. She overcame numerous challenges, a big one being the outbreak of COVID-19. Aside from paying out of pocket to take the LSAT, Gonzalez had to take it online, but on a specific IP address that helps prevent cheating.
To meet this requirement, Gonzalez paid for a flight from Vilseck, Germany, where she was stationed at the time, to Houston, Texas, to take her LSAT to make sure her IP addressed matched her physical location. Gonzalez explained how she took her test in a hotel room and flew back to Germany the next day.
Another challenge Gonzalez overcame was finding Army JAG personnel to conduct her FLEP interview. Being from the medical field, Gonzalez didn’t know any JAG personnel, so she had to call different offices for assistance. Despite being told the FLEP was only for JAG Soldiers, Gonzalez continued to push to reach her goal.
Even after being accepted into law school, Gonzalez faced new challenges. Being the only parent among a class of law students in their 20s, Gonzalez initially felt like she couldn’t keep up as she didn’t have the same amount of time to study as her child-free classmates.
“Law school has so many very bright people,” said Gonzalez. “They were super prepared, and they would be answering questions left and right, and I was like oh my God, I don’t know if I can make it, I don’ t know if this is for me. But when the grades came out, your confidence increases because you’re like ok I do belong here, and my grades showed it.”
Gonzalez’s sheer grit and determination paid off, and today she can finally say that she has accomplished her longterm goal of becoming an attorney.
“What I learned at the end is it’s not a competition with your peers, it’s not what everyone else is doing, it’s what you’re doing,” said Gonzalez. “You have to push yourself and you can only compare yourself to how you were yesterday, today and how you’re going to be tomorrow. It’s you against you.”
Col. Katherine S. Gowel, the 21st Theater Sustainment Command SJA, conducted Gonzalez’s commissioning ceremony, and then her Oath of Commissioned Officers.
“[She is] one of the very first NCOs to go to law school per the Army Funded Legal Education Program and then be commissioned as a judge advocate,” said Gowel. “It’s pretty exciting. It’s history making and it’s awesome. We are lucky we get to witness it.”
During the commissioning ceremony, Gowel spoke of Gonzalez’s journey from moving to the United States as a teenager to where she is now, calling her story the “Army American Dream.”
“When you’re an officer and a judge advocate, you’re a dual professional,” said Gowel. “As an officer, you’re an expert at leadership, decision making and advising commanders. As an attorney, you’re going to be a legal advisor, supervising paralegals and representing Soldiers as a legal assistance attorney.”
Now that she has finally completed her goal of becoming an attorney, Gonzalez said she is excited to start her position at the Kleber Legal Assistance Office.
“To be honest with you I am not nervous,” said Gonzalez. “I am actually very excited because I love what I do. I am looking forward to getting my clients and doing my job.”
For anyone who is thinking about applying for the FLEP, or any other self-improvement program, Gonzalez’s advice is to go for it.
“For all the leadership, it’s very important to support your Soldiers because you don’t know how far they can go,” said Gonzalez. “And for the Soldiers, you have to believe in yourself and do the work, because if you love the Army, the Army will love you back.”
To learn more about the JAG Corps and the FLEP, contact your installation legal office or visit https://www.jagcnet.army.mil/GoArmyJAG/Funded-Legal-Education-Program
