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THE PESA POST
The latest news, views and announcements from
Parents, Educators/Teachers & Students in Action

September 29, 2022
LEARNING TO WORK, WORKING TO LEARN
New interns roll up their sleeves for PESA—and gain priceless experience in the process
A core component of PESA is our College Internship program, in which students spend eight weeks immersed in various aspects of social services ranging from law and juvenile justice to education and advocacy. It’s a symbiotic relationship that provides PESA with a valuable workforce and, in turn, provides students with real-life, boots-on-the-ground experience that can have a profound impact on their career choices and professional ethos going forward.

This year, in response to changing times and new information, we’re excited to announce a significant update to the College Internship curriculum. Our Fall 2022 cohort of 16 students from the University of Southern California and California State University, Northridge will be the first to experience the newly revamped program, which has a heavier focus on outreach and advocacy. 

“The program curriculum aims to provide undergraduate students with opportunities of advocacy through legal and professional means,” says Assistant Director of Internships Amanda Flores. “Through an intensive program, participants will receive first-hand knowledge of the legal world and examine important social and legal issues.”
Cheyenne Clopton, Flores’s partner in developing the program, explained that the focus has put an emphasis on advocacy at the forefront of legal research, which is done by allowing the interns to hone in on “social issues that they care about and that are pressing to society,” she says.

The interns begin with a discussion and assignment pertaining to juvenile justice and Teen Court, the diversion program that PESA has partnered with since shortly after its inception. They then move into the next phases revolving around the work of an attorney and PESA’s civic engagement work with students. To cap it off, the interns will spend three weeks on the education phases of the program during which they will work on developing an educational presentation relevant to the youth that PESA serves. Essentially, the interns are experiencing a “mix of policy and avenues a lawyer can take to influence policy,” says Flores, through learning how to advocate and enact change.

“At PESA, our interns contribute to our mission of helping young individuals from diverse backgrounds, and they learn how that is the key to effective mentorship,” says Flores. “The practice of law and policy making are different areas, but essentially require the development of similar skill sets in order to be successful advocates of change. It is one thing to learn about law in the classroom, but putting it into practice is very different. We want to inspire them to think in terms of what a lawyer can do beyond the courtroom and beyond big firms. It’s law through the lens of advocacy."
John Brow
It’s already having the desired effect.

“I‘m anticipating getting a better feel for what a profession in the legal field might look like,” says intern John Brow, a USC student majoring in psychology and minoring in legal studies. “Working with people who are in the field is a good experience, because I haven’t made a concrete decision on what I would like to do after graduation. I'm really excited to work with the students. I was in their shoes not so long ago, and if anything, I can serve as an example of what a college student looks like and show them that pursuing education is a great option for them.” 

“I'm a firm believer in early intervention in a child's life,” says intern Wesley Begin, a CSUN criminal justice student. “I was inspired to work with PESA by the idea that introducing kids to the legal process could be used as a diversionary method. My career goal is to work as an attorney for the city of Los Angeles or elsewhere, and working with PESA presents an invaluable education and in-field opportunity. On top of that, I get a chance to give back to the community and make a positive impact on a child's life.”

If you’d like to support PESA’s many social and educational initiatives, please contact us.