Attleboro, Massachusetts,  Attleboro District Attorney's Office/Victim Witness Advocacy Program

How did you find this internship?

I found my internship to be an amazing experience. I was able to get a real feel for the legal field and how the judicial system works. My first hand experience taught me a lot of new things, and reinforced what I learned in my classes at UMass Amherst.

Why did you decide to pursue an internship?
I decided to pursue an internship because I am planning on applying to law school in the fall and thought that real life experience with the legal system would look good on my resume/application. Also, I had fulfilled all of my major requirements early and could finish my minor in one semester, so I decided to do my internship for credits and graduate a semester early.

What were your major responsibilities and/or accomplishments as an intern? 
My major responsibilities at my internship were aiding the victim/witness advocates and the assistant district attorneys with photocopying, making files, filing, calling for information from other district court for things such as 802 bail warnings, and I even got to work on the Boston Globe OUI project by collecting data on from 2008 to current on the number of OUIs committed.

What is the most memorable part of your internship?
My most memorable part of my internship was working on the Boston Globe OUI project because it was something that wasn't just as a part of my internship, but a real life project that would be published in the newspaper, and I was very excited to be a part of it.

What sort of 'sales pitch' would you use to convince another student to pursue an internship? What advice would you give a prospective intern?  
My "sales pitch" would be that you are able to make a enormous amount of connections with people in your field for future recommendations and advice. Also, it teaches you a lot about what you will actually be doing in your career field, not just background information. My internship also helped me narrow down my choices for what I specifically wanted to focus on in law school for my future. Overall, I would just say it is a huge step into the doorway for your future plans.

How has your internship changed your UMass Experience? 
I feel that I have a step up on everyone in major that has not had an opportunity to do an internship in their field. I was able to apply what I learned at UMass and use it in my field of study and learn even more on top of that through my hands on experience. Now, after completing my internship, I feel that I have fulfilled all of my major requirements and done everything I could here at UMass with my major.

Please add any information you think would be useful for a student profile about your internship.  
I got to actually meet and speak with one-on-one with the Bristol County District Attorney, Samuel Sutter, during my internship, which was an amazing experience. He was able to give me tips about pursuing my career as a lawyer and shared some of his own personal experiences. Also, I was able to save a lot of money by doing my internship for credits because I am eligible to graduate a semester early.