Blog 11: Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?
I'm proud that I had that much information to present on. I had so much information that I could barely reach the 9:30 mark, so it's a good sign that I will have more than enough subject material in my senior presentation.


2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you earned that grade using evidence from the component contract.
AP. I did everything that was required, although some fields were lacking.

3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson?  How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?

Simply be much more prepared.

Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time.

For the most part, I spent it interning. Right now, my mentor and I are arranging to meet other attorneys that can help me in my senior project.

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you?   

I found my mentor through my mom. My mentor is in charge of a program that helps students from high school and college get some credentials through interning.

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person?

Since I've spent a whole summer with my mentor, my relationship with her is good.

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?
I got a lot of information in the interview. However, what I need improvement on is finding better questions to ask. 2 of my questions did not work in this interview, so I will look up good interview questions and tactics so things run more smoothly.

Interview: https://youtu.be/aReBYTFHoEw

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

Yes I have a mentor, and I've already scheduled an interview.

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.  
Perhaps hardcore gang law or domestic abuse law.
 
3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?

Perhaps things pertaining to law, which I will ask my mentor about after the interview. 

4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

What is most essential for an attorney to build his/her case?

Blog 8: Independent Component 1 Proposal

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

Film and/or edit a 10+ min documentary revolving around the individual's role in the criminal justice system.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

The 30 hours will be accumulated through script-writing, filming, research, and editing. 

3.  Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

The better someone understands how one can make a big difference, the better prepared that person is.  Basically, understanding this will help me understand how effectively, as an attorney, I should present and prove my case.

4.  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

Ok

Blog 7 - 2nd Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert? 

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

•  Where have you worked in the criminal courts?
•  Has the criminal court changed in any way?
•  For how long have you worked here?
•  What do you currently do for your job?
•  What do you feel was most important to helping you get where you are now?

Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year?  What has made it a positive experience for you?  

It certainly has done its job giving me initiative to go out there and learn about my career field.

2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project?  How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you?  How might the senior team help?

All the busy work (research and Cornell notes) frustrates me. I am INCREDIBLY LAZY when it comes to busy work (which makes sense) so it's not easy trying to adjust to the fact that I have to do this for the whole year. Senior team can help by thinking of better alternatives, or more creative ways we can research on our topics. Another thing that frustrates me is the fact that the surplus summer hours don't go to mentorship hours, which is just as frustrating because I spent 150+ hours during the summer and summer is when my mentor isn't as busy and occupied.

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?
 The most important thing I learned from this interview is how to ask questions better and transition into different topics.

 

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

 Yes I did, the most useful being the ones whom I have business cards of.

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 

Considering how I was worked as her intern for (150+) along with her credentials as a former attorney, I felt that she was more than qualified.

Blog 4: House Advisory Prep

Write a short explanation of what you are hoping to accomplish through your senior project topic.  You will be sharing out on what you've written here with your house advisory and classmates on Friday, 9/11. 

Through my senior topic, besides simply finishing the project and finally graduating out of high school, I want to do it while feeling prepared for the future. That is exactly why I chose this topic: to think long-term and prepare for the future I have ahead of me.

Blog 3

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?
I plan on interviewing my mentor for simple reasons like getting more information about the field of criminal justice and about what it is like to work as one. However, if, by any chance, my mentor isn't available for interviewing, I know a district attorney working at that place whom I know a little. It is possible to set up an interview with him too. If all else fails, my mother has been working for district attorneys for 10+ years, so although the information and answers about criminal justice will be from a slightly different, secondhand point-of-view, it will still be good information nonetheless.




2.  Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?  

• If you could do it all over again, would you still choose this path?
• Have you always wanted to become an attorney?
• What was it that motivated you to go through 4 years of university and 3 years of law school to get where you are at now?
• What is most valued in a prosecuting attorney?
• How often do murder/death penalty cases come up?

Blog 2 - Summer Mentorship

 Click here to view my summer mentorship hour log.

1. List the contact name, phone number, and organization of the person with whom you volunteered.

 These are pictures of the Criminal Court building where I worked. Very big building and lots of people and courtrooms inside.

2. What qualified this person as an expert in your topic choice?     

 My mentor has prosecuted criminal cases for 15+ years before working her way up from being a district attorney to being the current legal advisor of the Criminal Grand Jury, a major branch in the DA's office that evaluates evidence used in a criminal case to see whether it's valid enough to press charges against the convict. Based on the information given, it's very clear that my mentor has lots of experience and expertise in the field of criminal justice.

3. List three questions for further exploration now that you've completed your summer hours.  

• What is the best way for a district attorney to go in order to bring justice to a defendant charged with crime?
• What is the most important factor in delivering a proper verdict?
• What is the best method in convincing the jury?

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

 I have learned a LOT during the time I have worked there, and have gained a lot of knowledge and insight in the field of criminal justice. I learned that this is something really worth pursuing, especially after hearing my mentor and other attorneys talk to me about it.

5. What is your senior project topic going to be?  How did the mentorship help you make your decision? 

As hinted earlier in Question 1, my topic will be criminal justice, which in itself is pretty self-explanatory, considering how my mentorship took place at the Criminal Court.

1. What three lessons were helpful for you to see and why?

• Law: Since I plan on becoming a prosecuting attorney, taking this lesson helped me get an idea of how law, or at least one branch of it works. What also helped was that this was done in perspective of the lawyer, not the prosecutor, so it helped me understand both sides of the coin.
• State Politics: In case I want to become a politician after some time as an attorney, I thought it would be helpful to start small and learn small-scale politics, and there was no better way to learn that than finding out how politics work in my state.
• U.S. Military Intelligence: This can also help in my possible future career as a politician since a politician has to know what's going on in his country and how info is obtained by the U.S. military, our country's backbone.

2. List one thing that you learned about the senior project in interviews that will help you get off to a good start.

I asked the person doing law about how to get a mentor, so that I can plan ahead and try to do my mentorship as soon as possible.

3. What topic(s) are you considering, and why?

My senior project will revolve around law; now there are many branches in law, but regardless of branch, lawyers typically follow the same protocol, which is to defend his or her client. I do not want to be a lawyer though, so my main topic will be criminal prosecuting, since 'prosecutor' isn't something that usually comes up in any students' minds when law or lawyers are mentioned and because it's just something I really want to do. I'm the type of person that likes to bring justice and find truth in a world of lies, and that's what prosecutors are usually all about. Plus, criminal prosecutors can investigate and look at evidence beforehand, unlike lawyers, giving the opportunity to plan ahead for their case.

4. What EQ do you think might be interesting to consider in guiding a project like this?


As I've stated in the previous answer, prosecutors are all about bringing justice and finding truth. Finding truth...

My EQ will most likely revolve around that aspect.

5. What are some ideas you have about finding summer mentorship?

My main goal is to get my mentorship at the DA's office located in Downtown L.A. I've already planned ahead and applied there, and I have yet to get my confirmation (which will be soon).

However, if, by any chance, I cannot get my mentorship there (which would be very disappointing), I am always prepared with a backup plan; my backup plan is to call the local court to get my mentorship there (thanks to the person who did his presentation on law and my mom for the info on local courts).