Chadron State senior having great year

First, he was tapped by Blue Key National Honor Society. That’s one of the highest honors a male student at CSC can receive. Then he earned all A’s while carrying 24 credit hours, about twice the normal load, during the spring semester. Next, he visited England in May during Chadron State’s annual criminal justice tour for what he calls “an awesome trip.” Another highlight occurred in July, when he was one of 30 participants in a special program at the University of Nebraska College of Law.

The latter experience, called the Pre-Law Summer Institute, affirmed Ybarra’s decision to pursue a career as an attorney. It is designed to increase the number of minority students in law school. He said he’ll definitely be one of the applicants if he passes the Law School Admissions Test.

“It was an awesome experience,” said Ybarra about his month in Lincoln. “We learned so much and had some unique experiences that will really help us once we get into law school.”

At the end of the institute, Ybarra received one of seven special honors that were distributed. His was the Vice Chancellors’s Research Award for outstanding performance in the Race, Crime and Law class.

Four classes made up the institute. The others were Legal Writing, Discrimination Law and Professionalism.

Besides hitting the books, the institute participants visited courts and law firms and were given a tour of the Nebraska Supreme Court by the chief justice, John Hendry. They also had weekly sessions with volunteer mentors who are in the legal profession.

Ybarra, who is an admissions ambassador at CSC, was nominated for the institute by Dr. George Watson and Dr. Lisette Leetsch, two of the college’s justice studies professors.

Ybarra said he’s wanted to be a lawyer as long as he can remember. He thinks it stems from watching television shows such as “LA Law “and “Law and Order” with his mother.

He believes he’s well-prepared to enter the legal profession. Now 32, he’s had many experiences that most individuals headed to law school have never had.

After graduating from Gering High School in 1990, he joined the Marines.

“I knew I wasn’t ready for college when I graduated from high school,” Ybarra said. “I had been about an average student and wasn’t ready to study as much as I would have had to if I was going to go to college.”

Most of his four-year hitch in the Marines was spent at El Torro, Calif., as an aircraft load planner. He also served a year in Japan. Following his discharge, he worked in the semiconductor division of the Rockwell Corporation at Newport Beach, Calif., for 2 1/2 years. While he said he loves California and doesn’t rule out living there again someday, he returned to the North Platte Valley in late 1996. During the next 5 1/2 years he was a member of the Scottsbluff Police Department.

“Being in the Marines and working as a policeman gave me numerous experiences that will be pretty valuable when I’m practicing law,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of things that cause people to need a lawyer.”

While serving as a policeman,.Ybarra attended Western Nebraska Community Colllege, graduating in the spring of 2003. He then enrolled at Chadron State because of its reputation for having an excellent criminal justice program.

Ybarra says he can’t say enough good about the CSC program.

“There were students from 20 colleges at the summer institute at UNL, and I think I had the best background and training in pre-law courses. The professors at Chadron State are outstanding. If CSC had a law school, I’d stay here and attend it.”

Before he graduates, passes the entrance exam and heads to law school, Ybarra has something else he wants to accomplish. He wants to earn a spot in the Chadron State wrestling team’s lineup. He was the Class B state champion for Coach Chuck Deter and the Gering Bulldogs as a senior in 1990.

Last fall, Ybarra tried to resume his wrestling career at Chadron State, but didn’t meet with much success. His nose was broken in an early practice and he was pinned in his match during the intrasquad scrimmage,

“I found out I wasn’t in shape for college wrestling,” he related. “It wasn’t so much my cardio-vascular conditioning that was lacking as it was my strength. I’d get in my shots, but I couldn’t finish them. The other guys were too strong for me. Since then, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the weight room and think I’ll do a lot better this year. I just want to help the team.”

Even if he never earns a spot in the varsity lineup, Ybarra is still a big asset to the Eagles, CSC Coach Scott Ritzen said. “He’s great to have in practice and around the team because he sets such a great example for the younger guys,” said Ritzen. “He’s got a wonderful attitude, personality and work ethic. We can all learn a lot from him.”

Nearly always, when Ritzen brings wrestling prospects to campus, he asks Ybarra to give them the tour. Since Ybarra is already an admissions ambassador, he knows the ropes well. One of those Ybarra showed around last spring was his cousin, Sergio Palomo, who placed third at for the Gering Bulldogs in Class B at 125 pounds at the state tournament last winter and is expected to be one of the Eagles’ top freshmen this season.