2014-2015 Fall Internship
Internship at Law office of Justin DIngee - McKenzie Stokes
Explain how your experience at the internship will impact your high school and further education. Have any of your plans changed? How have they changed?
My internship changed the way that I look at high school classes because with this internship I got to interact with people that are in the job field I would like to pursue. This made me realize that everything I do in school now will have an impact on my career in the future. This internship changed my future education since I am a senior in high school and will be attending college next fall and deciding my major was a struggle for me. This internship opened my eyes to the law office which was a possible career for me and allowed me to see that going through school to be a lawyer is what I want to do. This changed my college plans because before this internship I had thought about becoming a lawyer but was leaning more towards being a teacher and this internship showed me that the law field was my calling.
Describe a situation when you were really frustrated and explain how you dealt with it. What did you learn?
My situation when I became really frustrated came when it was time to do the new year filing. At a law firm the BAR association makes the firm keep files dating back many years. Since my internship site has been a law firm for many years and has had quite a few lawyers in the firm there are files everywhere and when the new year rolled around it meant I had to find a place to put last years files to make room for this years files. Trying to find a place was difficult enough then adding on the stress of moving all the files and making sure they stay together and in the correct order. This task really taught me that I had to be patient and take my time to make sure everything was done correctly. This was hard for me because I would rather just get the job done than take my time and slowly do the job.
Describe your internship site. Give the name location, general surroundings and what products or services they offer.
My internship is a law firm in downtown Wilkesboro. The name of my internship site is Law Office of Justin Dingee. My internship is near Waggles and The 50's on Main Street, in Downtown Wilkesboro. My internship site offers legal services to Wilkes, Ashe, and Allegheny. There are two lawyers in the firm and they are Justin Dingee and Adam Anderson.
How has your view of life beyond high school changed or developed during your internship? Do you view the world differently now that you have had experience in your chosen occupation? Do you view the occupation differently now that you have experience?
My view of life beyond high school has changed in the way that I am no longer uncertain of what I want to do with my life. This internship has allowed me to gain the knowledge I needed before entering college next fall. This internship has helped me decide on a major before I even attend college. My view of the world has changed so much because of my internship I have learned what people in the area that I live in are really going through and this allowed me to see people that are actually wanting to change for the good and get their lives back in order. My view of a lawyer before was someone who just argued to make money, but after my internship I have learned that lawyers do what they do to help people in the community.
How are teamwork and collaboration utilized at your work site? How have you contributed to the team/work environment?
Team work at my internship site is crucial. Without teamwork at the law firm nothing would happen. This includes doing things such as, finding cases and taking them to court for the lawyers so they can work on a case, to even taking the court calenders and highlighting all the cases for the lawyers and pulling the cases for them so they can review them before the court date. Even as an intern I was placed in situations where I had to work with the other members of the firm from pulling cases for them or running the cases to the lawyers. At a law firm nothing happens without teamwork especially since the lawyers might be in the office twice a week at the most.