Growing up, Maxine Binns had but one ambition: to become an airline stewardess. Today she is a newly-qualified barrister who, at age 50, has just been called to the Bar of England and Wales, and is now completing her pupillage preparatory to be called to the Bermuda Bar.

Mrs. Binns' journey between the two ambitions has been a long and varied one, fuelled by two essential ingredients: determination and an unbroken desire to succeed.

Goal-oriented from childhood and raised with a sound work ethic, Mrs. Binns has never been one to rest on her laurels. Words like "can't" and "maybe" have never figured in her lexicon.

When a milestone has been reached, she simply sets her sights on the next one. As a result, her working life has included several career moves in the name of upward mobility.

Thus it has been that, step by step and rung by rung, the mother of three has progressed to where she is today.

Mrs. Binns' story begins with enrolment in the Grace Downs Airline School in Long Island, New York.

Located in the former Woolworth family mansion, the teenaged Bermudian was deeply impressed by its beautiful interior and gracious grounds, both of which inspired her to study hard and graduate.

As a non-American, however, she could not get a job until the necessary paperwork was completed, so in the meantime she returned home to work "temporarily" in the Bank of Bermuda - and never left.

Over the next three years she would marry Myron Binns, the young man she first met at 15.

Then came an opportunity to work for Air Canada as ground staff. The part-time job satisfied her long-held desire to work for an airline, and because of the perks she, her husband, and sons Germaine and De Von, also did a lot of travelling.

At the same time, Mrs. Binns also worked part-time at John W. Swan Ltd., but with her long-term future in mind, she also spent six years taking night courses at the Bermuda College in such subjects as business and company law and economics.

Finally, after nine years at Air Canada, Mrs. Binns recognised that there was no further job satisfaction or prospect of advancement, and weighed that against educating her two children.

"They were getting to an age where we needed to make decisions," she says. "We were monitoring them and found that De Von was not being challenged in the Government system so we moved him to Saltus (where he thrived), and that required us to pay fees. Germaine, meanwhile, was at Northlands and doing well."

Six weeks after the arrival the couple's third son, Myron Carey, and having given up her part-time jobs, Mrs. Binns joined the law firm, Conyers, Dill & Pearman.

"I had taken a test at the Bermuda College which was designed to point me in the direction of career choices, and the result revealed hostessing and legal, and I thought I would go for the legal," she says.

For the next two and a half years the hard-working wife and mother enjoyed her role as a company secretary before moving on to Mello and Jones to advance her career.

"I worked closely with Michael Mello, which was very rewarding because he was patient and I was willing to learn. He taught me so much from incorporation to liquidation," she remembers.

In 1989, again to advance her career, Mrs. Binns joined Appleby, Spurling & Kempe (AS&K) as a corporate administrator.

"It was a bigger firm and it had a tier system whereby I could advance if I wanted to," she says. "The job was a new area, so I concentrated on doing the very best I could, and learning as much as I could, and I advanced to corporate group manager in one of the practice areas: Shipping and aviation. AS&K offers continuous learning opportunities, and there is a lot of in-house training."

Never one to waste an opportunity, Mrs. Binns successfully completed corporate secretarial and Dale Carnegie courses while fulfilling her regular responsibilities at work - oh yes, and at home.

Never one to draw attention to herself or seek glory, she simply went about her work quietly and efficiently for years. It was for others to recognise her services as an invaluable employee, and so they did, not once but twice.

The first time she was named `Employee of the Quarter', thanks to her department which collectively put her name forward. "I still have the proposal," she says.

In 1988 at the firm's annual dinner she was named Employee of the Year.

"I was shocked," she remembers. "It was in front of over 400 people, and that was really special."

Around the same time, Mr. and Mrs. Binns attended their older sons' graduations: Germaine from London's University of Westminster with a degree in podiatry, and De Von from Howard University with a degree in Biology.

So far so good, but Maxine Binns had long wanted to become a barrister and her husband knew it. Granted, she had an excellent job, as did he as what is now the Facilities Administrator at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, but they still had their youngest son, Carey, to finish educating, a mortgage to pay, and all the usual expenses to meet.

But Myron Binns is an extraordinary man. From the day he married his wife, he had always been an unfailing source of encouragement, moral and practical support.

Together with the children, he had willingly shared the household chores and cooking that allowed her to fulfil a busy, full-time career. Even so, he could have been forgiven for saying, "Enough is enough".

Instead, he turned to his wife at De Von's graduation and said: "We're broke, we might as well stay broke. Why don't you just go off and do Law as you always wanted to from the time you took that test at the Bermuda College and made your career choice?"

"I said, `Are you kidding?'," Mrs. Binns recalls. Nonetheless, she lost no time in applying to the University of Buckingham in Britain - "I was thinking, `I have to do this'," - and to her surprise, within a week had been accepted. She would not, however, leave Bermuda "free as a bird". Instead, she took her 13-year-old son with her ("I wasn't taking any chances") and enrolled him in a nearby school - a decision which initially proved difficult for them both.

"Carey gave me a hard time because he told me I'd taken him from his comfortable life and friends, so I had to contend with that for a few months until he complained once too often and I told him to pack his bag as I would ship him back on the next flight.

"That did it. After that he became almost my protector, and I had to account to him for my whereabouts. He stepped into his dad's shoes."

Diligent as she was, however, and no stranger to studying, Mrs. Binns quickly learned that she had set herself a tough goal.

"Nothing can prepare you for doing a two-year, intensive law course. Nothing," she says. "There were classes every day and plenty of studying to do at night.

My whole life revolved around my books. In fact, I had a library in my bed and would wake up during the night and study.You literally eat, drink and sleep law.

"Even during vacations you were preparing for an exam, so you were never relaxed. On top of that I was a mature student in a young class, although Buckingham is recommended for mature students, but the oldest student was 64, which made me feel better."

What with all the studying and being a single mum, Mrs. Binns admits there were times when she felt overwhelmed, but for the whole three years she was away her husband called her almost every day with encouragement and support, and he also flew over every three months for a short visit, when he would take over the household responsibilities so she was free to study. Only twice did she come home during holidays, working each time to help pay her way.

Finally, after two demanding years, Maxine Binns gained her just reward: an LL.B (Honours) degree in Law. But the journey was not over. She then had to spend spent a year gaining her professional qualification at BPP Law School in London, a Bar vocational school which prepares graduates for the Bar. Four days a week she left home at 7.30 a.m. for the two-hour drive to London, returning at 8.30 p.m. If she attended the obligatory dinners at the Middle Temple it would be midnight before she got back, at which time she would do the grocery shopping or laundry in order to have more study time the next day.

Inevitably, this routine took its toll and Mrs. Binns "hit the proverbial brick wall". Despite being mentally and physically exhausted, however, she never considered giving up. Instead, she was buoyed by the constant love and support of her family and friends, who encouraged her to stick with it.

At one point, while back home during this period and needing complete peace and quiet to study, Mr. and Mrs. Alex Cooper accommodated her on their fully-equipped yacht off shore for a week. Despite some bad weather that tossed her about a bit, Mrs. Binns remembers it as "a beautiful experience in a perfect environment for studying".

Incredibly, her devoted husband arrived every evening in his newly-acquired rubber dinghy to drop off the hot meal he had just cooked, and anything else he thought she needed, even though the yacht was provisioned.

"He tells me I'm his retirement package," she jokes of returning the favours.

Having duly passed the BPP exams which allowed her to be called to the England and Wales Bar on March 13, 2003, Mrs. Binns' name was formally entered into the Roll as a barrister. The colourful ceremony in the hallowed halls of Middle Temple was proudly witnessed by her mother, Cynthia Thomas, sons Germaine and Carey, and Cheryl and Edwin Ford, two good Bermudian friends living and working in England who had also stood behind her all the way.

Now returned to Bermuda and Appleby, Spurling & Kempe, the new barrister is currently completing the requisite 12 months' pupillage which will lead to her being called to the Bermuda Bar.

Looking back on her success, the wife and mother says she could not have done it without all the people who have inspired and helped her along the way: her devoted mother, in-laws and family, and a host of friends and colleagues too numerous to mention.

Now settled back into family life, she is proud that her sons have also pursued their goals. Germaine has his own podiatry practice here, De Von is studying dentistry, and Carey is studying computer information systems at Bermuda College. In July, she and her husband will mark 30 years of a very happy marriage, the challenges of which have deepened their love beyond measure.

"I have so much to celebrate," she says.

Describing herself as "a very private person", Mrs. Binns has consented to share her story in the hope that it will have a positive influence on others who may be contemplating facing a challenge but who need inspiration to overcome any fears of the unknown, shortcomings or failings.

"You won't know unless you take the first step," she says. "To achieve anything requires tenacity and a great deal of sacrifice, not to mention blood, sweat and a lot of tears of frustration. Don't let anyone define your boundaries. Learn to be an independent thinker."

In terms of her own success, the new barrister remains modest, preferring instead to sum up her achievement with a favourite quotation by Booker T. Washington: "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed".