This summer, I worked at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office in the Economic Crimes Unit. As a Wharton student aspiring to attend law school, I craved to work alongside legal professionals and immerse myself in a professional environment.
At Wharton, I am concentrating in Legal Studies and Business Ethics and minoring in Criminology. Through my internship, I was able to apply the concepts I learned in the classroom to real-world scenarios. At the State Attorney’s Office, I worked alongside attorneys, paralegals, clerks of the court, and law students to better understand our justice system.
The Office of State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle is committed to serving and protecting Miami-Dade citizens through preserving justice and equity in the court system. In my time working with the Economic Crimes Unit, I was tasked with various assignments, ranging from creating subpoenas to calling witnesses and victims for trial availability and going through fraudulent checks. Meanwhile, I shadowed and observed Assistant State Attorneys assigned to my unit through various stages of trial preparation.
The Wharton Philadelphia Summer Internship Award allowed me to pursue an unpaid internship with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. In doing so, I gained invaluable insight into the criminal justice system and solidified my interest in pursuing a career in law.
I have always been interested in studying law, but actively watching lawyers do their jobs on a daily basis reaffirmed my passion. Speaking firsthand with victims also showed me the importance of my work, especially while helping translate for attorneys who could not communicate with many victims in Spanish. Hearing stories about victims’ experiences with fraud and its impact on the lives of people everyday motivated me to help them get justice.
Due to the opportunity I was given by the Summer Internship Grant, I was able to give back to my community in Miami and help the attorneys get justice for victims so that one day I can help them myself.