Moment of Clarity
Some days, I can clearly understand why I am a law student at Northeastern. Generally, those days correlate with the days when something good happens to me. Couple weeks ago, I could not believe it was time to choose my next co-op already. I felt like I had just come back from my co-op at the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts, which was an amazing experience. Parts of me still cannot believe I helped the magistrate judge draft actual, real, federal court opinions. But apparently, summer is over, and it is time to apply for my winter co-op.
I had a clear mission when I applied for my last co-op. I knew I wanted my first co-op to be a judicial clerkship. Miraculously enough, that's exactly what I got. Now, the goal is less clear. So, I opened up the winter co-op list and sorted the list to only display those employers that are hiring for the winter - more than 900 employers were displayed on the screen. First thought: I love Northeastern because I love having choices. Second thought: but more than 900 choices?
To make a long story short, I spent the next couple of hours in the co-op resource room and narrowed down my choices to ten employers. For my second co-op, I wanted to explore the practice of law in a nonprofit organization or government agency and the 900-plus listing easily accommodated my wishes. Armed with my list of employers, I made a love package for each of them, consisting of my resume, transcript and writing sample and dropped the whole package off at the co-op office. Total time spent - about 6 hours. Total interviews received - 7 out of 10 employers replied after 2 weeks. I congratulated myself for being loved. Then after a couple of in-person interviews and phone interviews for those employers that are out of the state, I chose Equal Rights Advocates - an nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting legal rights and economic opportunities of girls and women through impact litigation and community outreach. I will be working on an equal education opportunity case when I arrive in San Francisco in December. That's right - San Francisco! The co-op system will not only give me the amazing opportunity to do impact litigation, but can also satisfy my thirst for the West Coast experience. In that moment, I knew for a fact Northeastern was the right choice for me.