Personal Narrative: Congressional Internship

I have frequently tried to impact the lives of others through service, and found that each attempt has also had a profound impact on my own life. This phenomenon is especially true about my Congressional internship with the Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives. Working for Leader Pelosi, I learned that service is about the people who are served, and not just about abstract ideas. I learned to serve others best, not by acting as their savior, but rather as their partner- a partner that empowers them to live better lives. I have a profound desire to serve the poor and downtrodden in our society, the people so often forgotten in our political and economic discourse. I hope to use the Public Interest Law Scholarship

Minutes later, in a room outside of the Senate Chamber, I met a young veteran who sadly needed a cane to walk. I reached out my hand to him, held him in place, and looked directly into his eyes, and told him, “Thank you. Thank you so very much.” Wiping tears from our eyes, we exchanged expressions of gratitude, and said good bye. “This is what it’s (public service) all about” I realized that public service ought to be less about competing ideologies and more about serving people who are often forgotten, like the veteran I had just met. A year later, I volunteered to tutor and mentor veterans and prepare them for the academic and social challenges of an undergraduate experience. Under the guidance of the program’s leadership, I used techniques and strategies that were tailored to the individual veterans, and saw each veteran I worked with, take significant

I want more opportunities to apply a person-centric and collaborative approach to service that empowers people to improve their own quality of life. In the short term, I want to dedicate the summers during law school entirely to public service internships in places like the Department of Justice or in Congressional legal offices. In the long term, I want to prosecute systematic corruption, tackle fraud, and fight for oppressed communities as a federal prosecutor or even an attorney general. Like the disabled veteran I met, so many disadvantaged individuals are forgotten and left to fend for themselves against the systemic oppression and indifference. As a lawyer, I hope to partner with victims of indifference and oppression, like the people of Ferguson, Missouri and Flint, Michigan so to empower them to improve their quality of life through the legal process. The PILS scholarship could give me the tools and guidance to bring that hope to