Liberal Arts Major: Psychology
Minors: Crime, Law, and Psychology
Hometown: Lansdale, PA
Experience Time: Summer 2022
Give us a brief summary of your experience?
This summer I was given the opportunity to do an internship at the New Jersey Public Defender's Office. I worked alongside attorneys and got to experience what they do on a daily basis. I am currently working on a couple of projects, one of which includes research on the psychological aspect of law. In addition to this research, I have been able to attend court and listen into hearings both in person and on zoom.
"This internship has given me so many connections to attorneys and other people in the legal field. These connections will help continue my hopes for a career in this world."
How did this experience impact you academically?
This internship has helped me experience what the psychological and neurological aspects of law include. One of the projects that I had to do for the internship was cold-calling clients to remind them of their court dates and relaying questions to their attorneys. This gave me more and better communication skills as I have never had to cold-call people before. Along with this, I have gotten much better at organization and attention to detail. These two traits are extremely important when dealing with people's lives and court cases.
How will this experience impact your career goals?
This experience has given me insight into what I would like to do with my future. Up until this year, my focus was pre-med and biology. I switched into the Psychology major with a focus in neuroscience but did not know exactly what I wanted to do. I realized after some time that I wanted to do research on criminal behavior. This internship has given me so many connections to attorneys and other people in the legal field. These connections will help continue my hopes for a career in this world.
How has the College of the Liberal Arts helped you to find and/or succeed in this experience (e.g., adviser, faculty, staff, enrichment funds, etc.)?
The College of the Liberal Arts has been very helpful in making sure I have the best experience possible with this internship while getting credit for it.