Jayne Williams, a student at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC), is an enthusiastic cheerleader for the court reporting profession. (In fact, she was appointed 2024-2025 Student Ambassador of the Illinois Court Reporters Association.) She says attending last year’s NCRA Conference & Expo was the “one of the best, if not the best” thing she’s done as a student. If you see her this year in Minneapolis, be sure to say, “Hi”!
UTS | How did you get interested in court reporting?
JW | After graduating with a BA in social work, I started working for our local district court as a court attendant. I loved the atmosphere, and I met a lot of wonderful court reporters during my time there. One thing I noted — court reporters love their jobs! Life took me in a few different directions after the courthouse, but I really missed working in the legal field. I decided to leave the workforce and go to court reporting school so that I can return to the courthouse — only this time, as a court reporter!
UTS | What do you love about stenography?
JW | I was a classically trained pianist for 15 years. Learning stenography definitely takes me back to that! It’s a skill that a lot of people don’t understand, and I find it fun to educate others and show them how it works because they’re always mind-blown!
UTS | Is it a challenge to balance school and family?
JW | I think most of us are on the same page here – YES! I have a five-year-old daughter who keeps me busy as it is. I sneak in practice whenever I can, but I find that breaking up practice time into smaller chunks of time makes it more manageable. I often try to get more practice time in during the week so that I can focus more on family activities on the weekends.
UTS | What did you enjoy about the NCRA Conference & Expo in Louisville, Ky., last year? Did you get any great advice or tips?
JW | The fun thing about this field is that being a student is akin to being a celebrity (or at least it feels like it). I am not exaggerating when I say we did not make it out of our first trip on the hotel elevator before a reporter from Ohio read our name tags, saw we were students from Iowa, and declared, “I just met the coolest firm owner from Iowa! You guys are students?! Come find me later tonight and I’ll introduce you!”
I cannot even begin to put the great advice and tips I received into words, so I’ll give some advice of my own: Go to an NCRA Conference as a student! I had a one-on-one conversation with the President of the NCRA, I learned endless new briefs, and I left with a wallet full of business cards from working reporters all over the country who are willing to mentor me and have me shadow them in virtual hearings. Going to the annual Conference was one of the best, if not the best, things I’ve done as a court reporting student.
UTS | Are you planning to attend this year’s Conference in Minneapolis, Minn.?
JW | When my good friend Maegan and I traveled to Louisville to attend the NCRA Conference last summer, I am not sure we even made it to end of the Conference before putting next year’s date on our calendars. We are so excited that the Conference is so close to us this year, and we are hoping to get some more of our fellow Des Moines Area Community College students to come along too! If you see us, please come say Hi! I promise that we’re fun! We’re already planning our little side trip to the Mall of America.
UTS | Is there anything else you would like to share?
JW | I was recently asked by the Iowa Court Reporters Association if I have any advice for other students. My answer was this:
DO. ALL. THE. THINGS. Court reporting school is very different than it was even a few years ago. With our program being almost entirely online, it can be somewhat difficult to create a community and form connections with peers. If I hear about an event, a convention, a training, etc. — I’m there.
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