``American Dream'' Comes True for Immigrant from India at State Bar ``Swearing In'' Ceremony.

PASADENA, Calif. -- In 1989, Chris D'Sa immigrated to America from Bombay, India, at the age of 22 with $100 in his pocket and the simple belief that great things can happen in America if you want something badly enough and work hard enough to make it come true. On Wednesday, 16 years later, his version of the "American Dream" became a reality.

D'Sa's journey from immigrant to dream fulfillment was consummated at 10 a.m. today during a ceremony of the California State Bar at the Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, CA, when he took the oath to become an attorney. D'Sa will now embark on a new journey to change his career from geologist to attorney specializing in environmental, construction and real property law.

According to D'Sa, the path he traveled when he reached American shores, segueing from a college student to a newly minted attorney, was not easy -- but was rewarding. Fresh upon receipt of his Master of Science degree in Geophysics from the University of Bombay, he first settled in Iowa where he took additional coursework to supplement his Master's degree. When completed, he moved to Southern California to seek employment.

Since 1994, D'Sa has worked for Hydrologue, Inc., a Pasadena-based environmental and construction firm. He started as a Field Geologist, is now a Project Manager, and has supervised and managed over $15 million worth of projects.

His dream of becoming a lawyer, D'Sa reported, started in 1991 when he was mistakenly arrested by bounty hunters as a "bail jumper" and turned over to the police. Even though the mistake was immediately evident, he was held for processing for a few days. D'Sa subsequently filed a wrongful arrest and imprisonment lawsuit, which was settled out of court. Noting that this was a defining moment in his life, he commented: "I felt so powerless because I didn't know the law and couldn't understand why they would keep me imprisoned for four more days after realizing their mistake. I knew then that I wanted to be a lawyer to help others who were oppressed. Unfortunately, I did not have the money for law school and also could not afford to take the time off work."

The solution came in the form of Anthony J. O'Farrill, an attorney who informed D'Sa that individuals under the tutelage of an attorney could be eligible to take the bar exam. In 1999, O'Farrill set up an apprenticeship program for him and D'Sa has functioned as a legal assistant, working on many of his cases and enabling him to combine "real-life" experience with studying law books.

In February 2005, despite never attending law school or taking a bar exam preparation course, D'Sa joined 4,520 other applicants in taking the bar exam. He was one of only 1,810 who passed, an accomplishment of which he is very proud.

"It's been a wonderful year and the future looks very bright," said the 38-year-old native of Mangalore, India. In addition to passing the bar exam and being sworn in Wednesday, D'Sa will be married in August. He is currently applying his legal skills through work with O'Farrill's firm as well as the Law Offices of Eric E. Castelblanco, a Beverly Hills, CA, law firm which specializes in slum housing law. "Life has been good to me and the best is yet to come."