Summer Internship Experience

Being a student can be one of the most gratifying times in a person’s life. Of course, a student is expected to perform well in her coursework and show up to classes from time to time, but she is mostly in charge of her own time and she only needs to be concerned about herself.

On the other hand, getting a grown-up job is quite another matter. Once a student graduates from the leisurely world of theory and education, she must face and live up to the no-nonsense demands of the “real world.” An adult professional often does not control her own time because of her work engagements, and she has to take responsibility for people other than herself.

It is no surprise then that the transition from being a student to getting a grown-up job presents a significant challenge. One makes the jump from roaming around campus freely and worrying about getting a B- to being stuck to a work post 9 to 5 and panicking about a telephone call to a difficult client. Doing a summer internship while one is still a student is a great way to ease this difficult transition. It allows students to become comfortable in a professional environment and learn the basic skills of a trade, while being short and cursory enough so that students do not have to be completely overwhelmed by the weight of the work.

A summer internship can help any aspiring professional, but it can be especially beneficial for an international student. Working in a professional capacity offers unique challenges to an international student because she must quickly adapt to rules that are different from those in an academic institution. In doing so, she will gain deeper insights as to how the English language is used in a professional context, what Americans value in life, and how to interact with people who have diverse needs and objectives. She will also have the opportunity to develop genuine connections with the people that she works with, which in turn will provide her with valuable information and knowledge about the profession, as well as enough guidance and camaraderie to sustain her throughout her life.

For my first summer internship in the United States, I am working at a legal aid office in downtown Ann Arbor. It is part of a larger non-profit organization that provides free legal assistance to low-income individuals. The office offers free legal representation and advice to survivors of domestic violence in Washtenaw County. The work mostly concerns divorce, child custody, and personal protection orders and the office works closely with a local domestic violence shelter. Since everything is free, the office is full of people that need assistance.

Having a background in victim advocacy and public interest law, I had wanted to pursue this line of work since before I started law school. After much research and consideration, I learned that employers in this field view someone with a demonstrated interest in public service and volunteer work as an ideal candidate. I also knew that my command of English conversation was not fluent and natural enough to impress employers. So I decided to volunteer at the local domestic violence shelter twice a month from the beginning of law school. This experience gave me much knowledge about victim advocacy and social services in America as well as an opportunity to practice impromptu conversation. It also allowed me to meet like-minded people in Ann Arbor and eventually even helped me find and get accepted to my current internship. By the time I interviewed for this internship, I had a basic idea of what the work would entail and could express myself clearly.

As for the location of my internship, I had planned to stay in Ann Arbor during the summer after my first year. This was because I felt that I had had enough adventures already, having grown up in South Korea and come to the United States just to attend law school. I wanted to stay in beautiful summer Ann Arbor and enjoy the peace and calm of being in a familiar place. I am glad that I made this decision because the past two months have been just that – peace and calm. I keep regular hours at the office from 9 to 5, go to yoga or to the river for kayaking or standing paddle-boarding after work, and have enough time to catch up on reading for pleasure. The Ann Arbor summer festival and Art Fair have been treats as well.

My experience working at the legal aid office has taught me many useful skills so far – conducting client interviews, drafting motions, filing documents at the courthouse, and getting a personal protection order against someone. Most importantly, I learned about professionalism. To me, professionalism means the following – being timely, dressing appropriately (no more yoga tights!), writing formal letters, handling difficult phone conversations, getting along with coworkers, and being a reflective professional. It has not been easy because there was a lot to absorb in a short period of time, but I have gained so much. In addition to my newfangled office skills, I have acquired diligence, a professional vocabulary, patient mentors, awesome friends, and confidence in myself. Overall, I love my summer internship so much that I want to continue working there as a volunteer even after the summer ends.

Nayoung Kim

Summer Orientation Peer Advisor

J.D. : Law

Country of Origin: South Korea