By Courtney Plante
Students, both new faces and old, are settling into their routines amidst football season and law school construction. This semester, in my typical unique fashion, I’m doing something a little different. I am spending the next few months in Washington, D.C. working for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a student in Professor Haught’s Law and Public Service Externship class.
Although the decision to not be at the school for an entire semester certainly isn’t one that you all will make, I encourage it. To me it’s what the law school experience is all about: doing something outside of your comfort zone and setting yourself apart, while also getting a great experience. And the city has indeed been an experience so far. While not as comfortable as Morgantown has become for me, I’m realizing that I could work in D.C. for quite some time. There’s definitely more to do and a plethora of colors and opinions as well.
Of course many of my fellow interns and colleagues are from the DMV (the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area), so I often get to talk about West Virginia, the school, and my (however slight) accent. You wouldn’t believe how many people think that West Virginia is hundreds and hundreds of miles away (Morgantown is only about 225). Everyone seems to be slightly intrigued by my making the trek. Thus, despite there being so many other individuals here, I stand out. In a good way. So, whatever it is that you want to do while in law school, it may as well be something that surprises people. I bet you’ll end up surprising yourself, too.
