Looking back at my internship experience at Short and Stevens Law, I can think only of the great pleasure and fulfillment I felt during this semester. Working at such a new law firm, it was rewarding to see the firm grow throughout this past year. Seeing the firm’s clientele grow in real-time, along with many accolades earned by my internship site advisors and getting to know my colleagues at the firm, was a rewarding experience that I will remember for years to come. I cherish and am grateful for getting the opportunity to work at such a young age at a law firm and start gaining work experience in my future career as a lawyer, as this chance is not given to many. Seeing the everyday life of a lawyer and the workload that comes with it benefits me as I know what to expect when I become a lawyer. Although I am currently studying psychology at UNLV, there was still constant overlap between the content of my major and my internship, such as seeing the motivations behind people's need for security in their life by making trusts or seeing the different personality types in clients and how to work with them in a personalized manner. I think that being farther into your academic path is necessary for an internship, as there are skills needed from your major that should be applied to the workforce. These skills and knowledge that I have gained from taking classes within my major, it only further reiterated my wanting to become a lawyer and understanding the dedication and ferocity needed to become one. On top of getting my BA, I will still need to go to law school and pass the bar exam to begin practicing law, along with developing important skills such as leadership, amiability, and professionalism to work with clients, and the ability to work well with peers and look to others for guidance or help. These are all qualities I felt I have gained in the experience working at the firm, as I have seen my three fantastic work colleagues, Whitney, Amanda, and Sherry, work together in a way that had me jealous at moments as I hoped I would be able to forge a friendship with them throughout the coming months. I am glad to say that I have formed great relationships at my internship site that I will maintain throughout the coming years, as these women demonstrate grit, kindness, and the charm I hope to emulate now and later. For future interns, I think the best advice I can give is to ask if there’s anything you can do to help and to make connections with your peers. I noticed that when asking my bosses if there was anything I could do to help, I learned more about the work within estate planning and got more familiarized with the legal jargon and terms. Along with this, by asking if my bosses needed any help I was able to discuss with them and ask them about themselves, learning more about them and their work style and creating space to ask further questions about the work we were doing at the firm and why they chose to pursue law. Overall though, I would emphasize that there is no harm in putting yourself out there in terms of applying for this internship program, as there is no experience that takes great courage and is rewarding, whether it be academically, professionally, or intrinsically.
