I can’t believe the summer is over, and my internship is complete. I’m so grateful that I had the amazing opportunity to intern at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. I got along extremely well with my supervisor, who is a wonderful person, as well as my coworkers. We all worked together as a team and managed to help each other out whenever in need of support. I recall the first week of work when we listened to eight hours of lectures on discrimination laws in Massachusetts, the rights of citizens and immigrants, and the role of MCAD. I have learned a wealth of knowledge about the legal field this summer, and I believe I gained the most experience from working hands-on with the public and people of different races and backgrounds in and around the Greater Boston area.
This is a pic of the building where I worked, the building is called McCormack.
My internship challenged my ability to do public speaking. My first presentation, which was at Mount Ida College, was challenging because I was nervous and timid. I was new and did not know what to expect. I had the audience ask me random questions and although I did know the answers to most of them, I remembered right them down and ask my supervisor during the appropriate time. Fortunately, I learned plenty from the audience’s questions as well as my supervisor and coworkers. I’m happy to say that my learning goals were successfully accomplished.
My last presentation was my best one because I was very confident and not only that, but I was poised and spoke loudly and clearly. I embarked on the internship with the academic goal of applying knowledge from my Legal Studies courses at Brandeis but I felt at first that I lacked self-assurance. In the end of my final presentation, the audience clapped and thanked me for presenting. I received some generous compliments, and I plan to build off this experience at Brandeis by not only sharing my knowledge, but more importantly I plan to speak out in classes more than before. I can now say that I will no longer be reluctant to speak aloud in classrooms.
This is a picture of my coworkers at the MCAD. They are all awesome people.
Now that my internship at MCAD is complete, I want to move on to something more challenging and new. Although I’m very busy during the school year (with homework, varsity soccer, and the Brandeis Labor Coalition) I plan to find a job this summer in the business field. I want to see what both sides are like, and not that I have worked in a law firm I would really like to see what a business internship is like. I hope that in the business world, my concept of social justice continues to be reinforced by other good people who are out there to make a positive difference in this world.
Attached are two links related to the MCAD in case anyone was interested in reading a bit more information.
http://www.enterprisenews.com/topstories/x780624485/Massachusetts-Commission-Against-Discrimination-finds-lack-of-probable-cause-in-discrimination-complaint-by-former-West-Bridgewater-cop
http://www.mass.gov/mcad/
I want to give a huge Thanks to my supervisor Becky Shuster for teaching me so much in just a couple of weeks, and to the WOW committee for this wonderful opportunity, which would not have been possible without their support.
If anyone has any questions feel free to email me at Harold10@brandeis.edu.