Maggie Thiel, A Life Lesson in Fulton
It is surprising, sometimes, how a college education can teach so much more than what can be learned from a lecture or found in books.  I discovered this for myself when I did an internship at the Public Defender’s Office in Callaway County.  When I first walked into the Westminster College Career Services Office last spring, I had no idea what lay ahead of me.  I figured I probably should do an internship while I am in college to thicken my resume a little, and maybe even teach me some legal lessons to give me a leg-up in law school.  What I learned were not only the practical lessons, but a whole new outlook on life as well. As I was filling out my learning contract, I thought about what I wanted to gain from my experience at the law office.  Still not fully understanding what I was going to do, I set a few goals.
One of the first things I did was organize an actual case and work on it very extensively for a few weeks.  The files have to be in an order that enables the attorney to find what he or she needs in a matter of seconds.  Time is precious in a trial and a well-organized case file makes it run more efficiently.  Also, it helps the attorney to go though it and familiarize him or herself with the case faster.  I also looked up history, wrote deposition questions and researched to defend the client.    I actually had the chance (on many occasions) to go into the jails and prisons and sit in on attorney/client meetings.  This was invaluable to me because, again, there is no other way I could have done this.  Getting to listen to the attorneys advise their clients let me learn not only legal jargon and procedure, but it also taught me how to interact with them. When I started this internship I wanted to explore whether I wanted to fight on the prosecution or the defense side.  After a semester defending just seems right for me now, as opposed to being responsible for putting others behind bars.  I am not sure if public defense is the direction I want to take, but after interning at this office, it is definitely one of my options – one that I never would have considered before. I learned more in one semester at the Public Defender’s Office than I would have all four years at Westminster College without an internship.  There are so many aspects of the legal career that I now know and understand that I would not have had I not taken this internship.  I have a better understanding of what will be expected of me when I am an attorney, and I have gained insight on life as well.  My outlook on others changed for the better and I grew a deeper understanding of and compassion for the human condition. I know that the constitution affords everyone legal representation and that in order to be a public defender, one has to take that very seriously.