Criminal Justice Major Excited to Learn Firsthand about Legal System

I chose this particular internship site because I felt that it would give me experience in the fields that I would potentially like to work in after my undergraduate career. This particular internship will give me experience in both the legal system and with helping people in support groups. These are two areas that I am very interested in and am currently taking classes for. I am a criminal justice major concentrating in forensic psychology and minoring in psychology and legal studies.

As I have progressed in my undergraduate career, I have taken courses that have led me to two different options as I approach my senior year. I would either like to go to graduate school for social work or I would like to go to law school to study criminal law. I know that I would like to work with juveniles in the criminal justice system, but I have not figured out in what capacity yet.

I believe that this particular internship site will give me the experience that I need to help me figure out which path I would like to take after my undergraduate career has finished.

I hope to learn how to successfully navigate the court system during my time at my internship. A part of what Survivors of Homicide does is help the families of the victim navigate the legal system, inform them of their rights, and advocate for them. While I believe I have a fairly good understanding of how the court system works, I would like to experience it firsthand and to be able to help those who do not understand the system as it can get very confusing.

I also hope to learn how to effectively help people in tough situations. While this internship site does not specifically work with juveniles, it sets out to work with and help a group of people who are going through something that not many people can understand. Survivors of Homicide sets up support groups and works to help them in whatever capacity that they can even though they may not be able to truly understand what these families are going through.

I feel that this will be important for my future career as I will meet many people who have gone through things that I may not be able to fully understand and relate to, but I still want to be able to help them in whatever capacity that I can. I feel that this internship will truly help me be able to do that.

Overall, I feel that this particular internship will give me valuable experience in both of the fields I am interested in. I hope that by the end of my time at Survivors of Homicide I will have been able to learn a lot about the court systems and about how to effectively help those who are going through something that I may not be able to fully understand.

The experience that I gain here will hopefully help me make a decision as to what I would like to do in the future. Kayla Steefel ’19

The Bergami Summer Internship Program is funded through the generosity of Board of Governors member – and former Board Chair – Sam Bergami ’85 EMBA and his wife, Lois, and the Division of Student Affairs. The students are blogging about the experience throughout the summer.