Larsen Law PLLC
During my 1L/2L summer, I had the opportunity to intern for Attorney Eric Larsen in Franklin, TN. During this internship, I learned the ins and outs of practicing criminal law from the defense side. My duties included conducting legal research, attending court proceedings with Mr. Larsen, drafting expungement forms, drafting diversion applications, drafting subpoenas, and reviewing discovery.
Sumner County Criminal Court
In addition to my internship with Larsen Law PLLC during my 1L/2L summer, I participated in a field placement under Judge Dee David Gay of the Sumner County Criminal Court in Gallatin, TN. During this field placement, I had the opportunity to observe criminal law from a neutral standpoint by discussing cases with Judge Gay and observing both the prosecutors and defense attorneys in court. My duties included conducting legal research, drafting memorandums for Judge Gay, observing court, and helping Judge Gay’s assistant to schedule future dockets.
Trammell, Adkins & Ward, P.C.
In January 2020, I obtained my first job in the legal profession as a file clerk at a prominent insurance defense firm in Knoxville, Tennessee. Working here exposed me to the everyday operations of a law firm as well as the everyday lives of practicing attorneys. My role as a file clerk/runner included organizing case files, aiding other staff members and attorneys with special tasks, and delivering documents to the courts.
East Tennessee Freedom Schools
Organized by The Children’s Defense Fund, today’s national Freedom Schools program was inspired by the Freedom School Movement of the 1960s. Student leader interns (SLIs), along with site coordinators and other staff, implement research-based and multicultural reading curriculum to help scholars improve their literacy skills while also learning more about social action and civic engagement. During the summer of 2019, I had the eye-opening opportunity to serve as a Student Leader Intern with the East Tennessee Freedom Schools program at the Sarah Moore Greene Site. As an SLI, my role is teacher-like in that I have a classroom of approximately 10 scholars for six weeks during the summer. As a class, we read books that have been carefully chosen to represent a wide variety of racial, economic, religious, gender, and family issues, and then complete related activities based on the scholars’ age groups.
My summer was a Student Leader Intern with East Tennessee Freedom Schools was transformative. I worked with kids who have incredible potential to change the world someday, and they confirmed my desire to work with kids for the rest of my life.
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In the past, I had the opportunity to intern at The McKenzie Banner, a newspaper in McKenzie, TN. During my freshman year of college, I was interested in pursuing a career in political journalism. Although journalism is not the field I wish to pursue anymore, my internship at The McKenzie Banner helped me to develop my writing and communication skills.
Another job that I have held yet not related to my future career is my time as a server at Oscar’s Italian. I worked there for a year, from October 2018 to October 2019. With this position, I enjoyed a lot of great pizza and met a lot of great people.