
Defense Investigator, Maryland Office of the Public Defender
Major: Criminology and Criminal Justice
Minor: Law and Society
Class Year: 2022
What was a typical week like in your internship position?
My work environment was split pretty evenly into both online and in-person work. Because of the existing COVID-19 pandemic, interns do not come into the office on normal work hours. Because interns don't come into the office: every work week was different for me. Depending on the day: I would be drafting and serving subpoenas, or completing background investigation on various clients. Some days I would work closely with attorneys to analyze cases and strategize an investigation plan. I would work roughly 6-10 hours a week: depending on how heavy my caseload was.
What do you enjoy most about your current position?
This is a hard question to answer, as I enjoyed many things about the internship position. I genuinely enjoyed the work a lot, so just completing my weekly tasks was very enjoyable to me. One week I had 4 different cases due at the same time and it was really stressful. I wanted to make sure I completed my assignments diligently, which I did. But, I figured attorneys are too busy to really appreciate it. To my surprise: all four attorneys I worked with that week not only thanked me: but they also told me that they appreciate my time and energy and that I did a great job. Having that validation was one of my favorite things because it made me feel like I deserved to be where I was.
How has your coursework helped you in your internship?
Considering my major is Criminal Justice and my minor is in Law and Society: the classes I have taken previously helped a lot with my internship. To be more specific: this internship correlated with the class I took called CCJS418L: Criminal Justice over the Life Course. CCJS418L brought us really in-depth with the age-crime curve, which essentially portrays evidence that the majority of people offend in their adolescent to teen years. This made me much more knowledgeable of the juvenile delinquency patterns which helped give me a lot of context for when I was ready to take CCJS451: Crime and Delinquency Prevention. This class taught me a lot about risk factors, protective factors, and deterrence of younger offenders, which greatly helped me throughout my internship.
How did you locate your internship position?
I had been applying to internships all throughout my Junior year. I had a smaller internship with MaryPIRG for my fall semester senior year. I figured that maybe an internship wouldn't fall through for me this semester. But, during winter break the Maryland Office of the Public Defender reached out to me with a position. I exchanged a few emails, and did an interview and they decided to bring me on board.
Advice for students:
I would say to apply to as many internships as you can. It is also crucial to apply accordingly, meaning the correct time to ensure that you can be brought on board in time for a fall or spring position. Internships are very hard to come across. The most effective way to find an internship is through connections, but sometimes these are hard to come by as well. Keep trying to find one and it will fall through. When you get your internship, make sure to fully absorb yourself in it. Do your work thoroughly, because it will only help you in the long run.
Anything else you want to share with students about your experience?
I had a very great internship experience. Part of this was because I had a really awesome workspace, with even more amazing coworkers. Sometimes these experiences can be hectic, but it is all a part of the journey. Stay patient and work hard. Having this internship made me realize a lot of things about myself that I wouldn't have realized normally.