I’m writing this from a cruising altitude on my flight from Chicago to Austin, Texas. After three final exams, a paper that never seemed to end, and some serious hassles getting out of Boston—which I guess are inevitable with the amount of travel going to Harvard can involve, but that hardly makes it fun to take your turn—I’m pretty tired! But I’m on my way now and very excited about the summer ahead.
I have classmates doing some amazing things with this time, from swanky firm jobs in L.A., New York, or Chicago, to the Department of Justice to documentary filmmaking in Africa. But my own deep roots in Texas and intentions to return there after graduating made Austin the obvious destination for me. As I’ve mentioned here before, the extensive connections of our Office of Public Interest Advising landed me not one, but two great internships in Austin this summer.
The first is with a branch of the national office of Appleseed Networks, doing policy advocacy on financial access and asset-building issues. A lot of people, like those without credit histories or social security numbers, are currently shut out of the financial institutions that hold the basic building blocks of generational wealth, like savings accounts and good rates on loans. Instead, many rely on check cashers and payday lenders that exploit their lack of experience or English proficiency. I really look forward to helping Appleseed draw attention to this issue and work toward fixing it.
My second job is to help provide legal services with the team of renowned housing lawyers at Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid. I feel really prepared for this by the work I’ve done with the Tenant Advocacy Project (proving that student practice organizations at Harvard can be much more than résumé padding!). Housing law in Texas is very different from in Massachusetts, much as housing court will be from the administrative hearings I’ve handled so far. But that’s so much less of a learning curve than it could be.
Leaving Cambridge for summer work can be an ordeal. It may require moving or storing your stuff (especially if you live in the dorms), subletting your apartment (if not), or in my case, leaving behind a significant other who has always been by your side so far. I avoided it last year, had a great time interning in downtown Boston, and felt lucky to have dodged all the inconvenience.
But my friends who went away seemed to think it was absolutely worthwhile. And let’s face it: one of Harvard’s best advantages is creating job opportunities well worth carting your life halfway around the country (or globe) to seize. Having two of those this year, I’m definitely beginning to come around. Which, after spending seven hours today sitting in airports, is really saying something!
– Lea
