Mariné Loveless was born in Cancun, Mexico.  In December 2006, while a teenager, she moved to the United States and Kokomo and enrolled at Northwestern High School, where she earned several awards including a student of the month award and awards for academic achievement and sports.  She graduated from Northwestern High School in 2003 with a Core 40 diploma.

Mariné’s family hired an immigration attorney who did not complete all of the appropriate paperwork, so Mariné’s immigration status prevented her from pursuing a college education when she graduated from high school.  Mariné and her family eventually completed the necessary paperwork on their own.  Mariné received her green card in December 2005.  Soon after she received her green card, she and her husband welcomed their daughter, Bethany.  Bethany’s birth helped Mariné realize that she needed to continue pursuing her dreams.

The experience Mariné had with her immigration status led her to think about pursuing a career in the legal field.  Mariné enrolled at Ivy Tech in the fall of 2006 as a paralegal student.  She has been on the Dean’s list every semester since enrollment.  At the end of the fall of 2007 her GPA was 3.857.  Even though Mariné is not a native English speaker, and she did not move to the United States until she was in high school, her writing assignments are flawless.

In addition to superb academic performance, Mariné has been very involved with student life at Ivy Tech.  In fall of 2007, Mariné began peer tutoring and worked with an Ivy Tech student who was taking Spanish.  She met twice a week with the student and helped the student with homework assignments, pronunciation and exam preparations.  In addition to her peer tutoring, Mariné was a lab assistant at Ivy Tech and is currently a data clerk for the ASA Tutoring Center.  She helps students in the ASA center with math problems and assignments.  In addition to her Ivy Tech activities, Mariné assists with the Kimmunity program at Chapel Hill Christian Church.

Upon graduation Mariné plans to obtain a paralegal job with a law firm or governmental agency.  She wants to be able to assist people who need legal assistance and hopes to make a difference in individual lives.  As a college graduate, she hopes to inspire her daughter and help her realize that American dreams are reachable for anyone with courage and determination to work through and beyond life’s obstacles.