A grandmother has started a new career after being Called to the Bar.

Angelita Dill, 54, worked in telecommunications and owned small businesses before going back to school to study for a law degree.

She said: “There was nothing that concerned me about returning to studying. What I was concerned about was how were we going to pay for law school.

“It never occurred to me that returning to school at this stage in my life was somewhat unique.

“It is now when I hear my friends doing the retirement countdown that I realise I am at the beginning of my career while they are nearly at the end.”

Ms Dill, who was Called to the Bar on Monday, said there were several reasons why she wanted to become a lawyer, but they all boiled down to a desire to help Bermuda and its people.

She explained: “I wished to be a part of the solution of ensuring clarity, of advising and advocating justice, fairness and good relations to advance us all positively and progressively forward to better states and conditions.”

She added that she had thought about studying law when she was a teenager but chose other paths for “silly reasons”.

Ms Dill said: “I decided not to do so because I did not want to go to England to study. When I went to Canada, law was not a consideration because I was not going to be in university that long, but it has turned out that I am a professional student.”

Ms Dill attended BPP University College of Law in London and passed her legal practice course in 2016. She achieved a Master of Laws degree a year later.

Ms Dill thanked God for her achievements, along with her family, particularly her husband Edgar.

She said: “I am eternally grateful to him. He has made tremendous sacrifice as a husband for my aspirations.”

Lynda Milligan-Whyte, Ms Dill’s pupil master at Apex Law, said her experience in the telecommunications field put Ms Dill in a unique position as the island moves towards the fintech industry.

She said: “I have worked with her for a whole year, and one of the things I discovered was her commitment to learning. We are never too old to learn and she has demonstrated that for her whole life.”

Chief Justice Narinder Hargun congratulated Ms Dill for her hard work.

He said: “The study of law is not always easy, particularly so if you try to pursue it after a gap of 30 years after your university degree.”

Mr Justice Hargun added that he was impressed with Ms Dill’s academic achievements and urged her to find ways to give back to the community in her new career.