When Miguel Quintero returned from Army active duty nearly four decades ago, he was dealing with physical and mental ailments, including PTSD. Receiving help requires a lot of paperwork, and over the years, Quintero found himself becoming a bit of an expert.

Many veterans return home needing vital benefits they are entitled to. But too often, Quintero said, they don’t really speak the bureaucratic language demanded of them. A lot of the paperwork, he said, requires knowledge of the system and the law. With an assist from UCLA VetJET (Veterans Job, Education & Training), he will graduate with a Paralegal Studies certificate from UCLA Extension this summer, which will help him take an even more active role in this vital cause.

“At this point, I know quite a lot about the VA benefits and the process, so I can help any guys that need guidance,” Quintero said. “Having a paralegal certificate gives me more clout so that they can look at me as someone who really knows what he is doing and is qualified to lend support. Even though you don’t need legal experts for VA disability, it’s just better to have us available. Everyone feels better about it. The legalese of learning how to think like an attorney or paralegal comes in very handy.”

A Los Angeles native, Quintero grew up with a love of learning, but didn’t have the means to attend college right out of high school. Instead, he enlisted, serving as a military policeman for three active years of service. When he returned home, he put the benefits of the GI Bill to use – earning a degree in accounting, a masters of public administration and an associate degree in administrational justice.

He spent most of the last 30 years as a police detective, but he wants to continue to be of service.

“Once I retired, I wanted to help other veterans,” he said.

Quintero was tipped off to UCLA Extension by his therapist and counselor, and he enrolled in Sept. 2024. He said the VetJET program’s support was instrumental to his progress.

“They walked me through the whole program and what to do,” he added. “The actual studying I obviously had to do on my own, but the UCLA program made it very easy. They’re very organized.”

UCLA VetJET – which launched in March 2024 – is a program offered by UCLA Veterans Initiatives & Partnerships through UCLA Extension. It is independent from the GI Bill or other educational benefits and offers no-cost UCLA Extension certificates for veterans. Students can choose from 22 certificate programs, including paralegal studies, and courses are available as self-paced online, hybrid and in-person options.

Quintero is an advocate for the program, and continues to be a proponent of continuing education, noting he plans on taking an ethics class after his paralegal studies graduation. The more he can learn, the more he can help his fellow veterans receive their benefits.

“I’m able now to cite cases and federal law, regulations and the VA guidelines themselves,” he said. “I’m able to write it in that manner where the person who is reviewing has no other option than to accept it.”

Quintero estimates that only about 10% of disability claims get approved when the veteran is on their own writing the request, while the help he can provide raises the approval rate to nearly 80%.

“That’s a huge difference. Without that help, veterans don’t want to deal with it and they get burnt out,” he added. “That’s when you see people out on the street. They get frustrated with the system.”