My New Internship

On Monday, March 14, I became the new Government Intern at Becker & Poliakoff, PA in Tallahassee, Fla. When I was offered the internship, I honestly did not know what to expect. I visited a law firm once when I participated in the Widener University School of Law JURIST Academy in Wilmington, Del. during the summer of 2010, but I did not see any non-law school students interning there.

After one week of interning, I must say that I have learned A LOT! I work closely with the government specialist, Cedric McMinn, and I have learned so much from him in such a short period of time. I learned about the administrative duties that go along with working at a law firm such as scheduling appointments with legislatures to discuss bills that are important to the firm's clients. I am also abreast of the major bills that are up for discussion and voting in the Florida Legislature and I am able to navigate around the Capitol.

Yolanda and me at the annual National Association of the Bahamas Gala in 2007.

On March 21, I spent the whole day with one of my supervisors, Yolanda Cash Jackson, at the Florida Capitol. Yolanda is a shareholder of Becker and Poliakoff, and she is one of the most powerful and influential lobbyists in Florida. She is a Bahamian-American from Miami (like me!), and she is a graduate of University of Florida's College of Law.

I got to see her in action as she discussed bills with different legislators that she knows on a personal and professional level. As I watched her in action, all I could think about was how much her career mirrored the things that I was learning in my public relations courses.  I noticed that with each client she utilized the five communication skills, which are listening, writing, speaking, counseling, and promoting. She listened to what each legislator had to say, she counseled them on talking points that they could use when they presented their bill, she promoted the bills that were important to her clients' issue, and wrote down things that were mentioned to her, so that she could go back and conduct more research.

After spending the day with Yolanda, I really became interested in becoming a lobbyist. It was the first time I saw how law and public relations actually worked together without conflicting with each other. I also thought about how comfortable Yolanda looked doing her job. It seemed as though she was having a regular conversation with the legislators, and much to my surprise, they were willing to listen. I quickly realized that each time she met with a legislator, they felt completely at ease with her, and they were very candid with her about their reservations or un-readiness about the contents of the bill, or why they had a favorable attitude toward the bill.

Although it was a really long day, overall, I really enjoyed my day at the Capitol and with Yolanda. I enjoyed my day so much that I did not want to leave and go home. And when I did come home, I wanted to put on a suit and go back to the Capitol. Spending time with her really opened my eyes to a career where I can utilize my public relations skills and still be an attorney.

#PROGRESS

Today I found out that I was placed on the waiting list at one of the schools I applied to! Also, all of my applications are complete, since my last LSAT score came in.

The REAL waiting game commences...

Another Disappointment, but HOPE is still alive

I told myself in December 2010 that I would not blog until I took the February 2011 LSAT and got my score back.

Well, that day has finally arrived, and I'm sad to say that my score got one point worse. It's disheartening news, however, I really did do my best. I took a professional prep course ($849), did all the homework for it, never missed a day, and seemed to be doing pretty well in the classes. I was not even nervous or anxious about the test, for the prep course boosted my confidence from when I took it in October.

Although this was a disappointment, I still have not lost hope, and I won't give up. It's not in my nature. I'm already thinking of a contingency plan...

In the meantime, I will be conducting research on why people, especially some people of color, in my category (high GPA, low standardized test scores) do so poorly on these types of tests. I'm really interested in seeing what scholars have to say about it because I've always bombed these tests.

Dare to Dream Young Girls Network makes front page news!

A couple of blog posts ago, I mentioned that I volunteer as a public relations manager at Dare to Dream Young Girls Network, Inc. in Tallahassee. Well, Ms. Kimolyn, the founder and CEO, and I have been working hard to promote the organization's upcoming event called Breakfast at Tiffany's. I submitted a press release and a media alert to the Tallahassee Democrat, and it resulted in a story on the FRONT PAGE of the Dec. 12 issue of the newspaper! I am so excited for myself and the organization!

Here's the article (Courtesy of the Tallahassee Democrat)


Breakfast at Tiffany's comes to downtown

By Elizabeth M. Mack • DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER • Published: December 12. 2010 2:00AM

Kimolyn Ferrell had a dream of enriching the lives of young girls in her community. So she created Dare to Dream Young Girls Network Inc. in January 2004.

"The program was started initially to teach the girls etiquette and introduce them to different cultural experiences," Ferrell said.

Beth Curtin, the program's after-school facilitator, said the girls are given help with their homework Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, they get to do fun activities such as watching a movie or doing arts and crafts.

"I think it's a fabulous program," Curtin said. "It helps to build their self-esteem and makes them feel good about themselves."

Once a month, the young ladies in the program get all dressed up for breakfast and deep feminine discussion. This month, they are meeting downtown at the Raymond C. Sittig Hall in Kleman Plaza at 10 a.m. Dec 18.

During the four-hour event, there will be various empowerment workshops, several motivational speakers, live music and a mother-and-daughter professional photo shoot.

But they're gathering for more than just a meal and a talk — it's also the second annual Breakfast at Tiffany's event.

The event is a fundraiser that helps the program as well as a family during the holiday season through the "Get to Give" project. This year, they've adopted a family of eight.

For more information, contact Dare to Dream Young Girls Network at (850) 847-3875.

Framing and The Addendum

Two weeks ago I received my LSAT score. When I looked at it, I was not happy with my score, nor was I disappointed. I knew I did the best I could, considering that I rarely perform well on any standardized test. Now that my Law School Admissions Test score battle is over, I have started to fill out applications and gather materials for law schools.

However, I am preparing to fight another battle: telling law schools that I can and will be successful in law school despite my LSAT score. Since receiving my score, I contemplated on how I will portray the aforesaid to the admissions committee who will evaluate my application package. While attending one of my PR courses, I had my “ah hah” moment.

In my PR Research & Strategies course, we discussed the content of a publication by the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions titled "The Psychology of Climate Change: A Guide for Scientists, Journalists, Educators, Political Aides, and the Interested Public." In that publication, we were introduced to framing, which is "the setting of an issue within an appropriate context to achieve a desired interpretation or perspective." After learning about what framing is, I knew that it would be a great technique to use when I am writing to the admissions officers about my LSAT score.

Last week I wrote the first draft of my addendum. It took me a while to figure out the structure of my essay, but I eventually came up with what I wanted to include. First, I wrote about how I prepared for the LSAT, and the amount of time I spent preparing. I also included the materials I used to prepare for the LSAT. Then, I thoroughly explained my standardized test history and how the scores did not accurately predict my success in college and compared it to my LSAT results. Lastly, I gave reasons why I would be a great law school student.

I hope the way that I framed the message in my addendum will persuade law school admissions committees to admit me into their law schools. Wish me luck!

PR and Law Firms

Since I began thoroughly researching law schools and the admissions processes about six months ago, I found myself reading a lot of articles about careers in the legal field. While browsing around the American Bar Association's website today, I found an article titled "Why Law Firm Public Relations Fails." After reading the title, I realized that public relations can truly be tied to any and every field. Although there are some distinct differences in the job descriptions of lawyers and public relations practitioners, after reading the article, public relations practitioners and lawyers have to work together to ensure the success of public relations at law firms.

According to the article, one reason why public relations practitioners and lawyers at law firms should work together is because lawyers tend not to answer calls from public relations agencies, and miss opportunities to share their feedback about matters that may be in the media. As we all have seen in recent years, traditional journalism has been overshadowed by citizen journalism with the increase of social networks, online forums and blogs. Things written by citizen journalists can readily be picked up by news organizations looking to be the first to broadcast news and not checked to see if the facts in the story received are indeed facts, so stories become viral and the public will believe what is out now whether the story is true or false. Therefore, lawyers should work with public relations agencies in responding in a timely manner to preserve their image and their brand, so that it will not get tainted by the media.

In addition, according to the article, lawyers tend to disrespect the value of the public relations practitioners and fail to see how they can work together. After reading that I thought about how I can use my public relations skills to bridge the gap between lawyers and public relations practitioners. When I become a lawyer, I can persuade other lawyers how we could preserve or enhance the image of the law firm favorably in the court of public opinion while still adhering to the laws of the land.

As I learned in my public relations courses thus far, doing the right thing and being seen doing the right thing will make the public see that the organization or individual is genuine in its practices therefore winning the acceptance of the public.

The Personal Statement and PR

As you know, I am applying to various law schools. One of the components of the applications is a personal statement. Since the majority of law schools do not grant formal interviews for applicants, the personal statement has replaced traditional interviewing.

Realizing that the personal statement is a way for admissions officers to get to know me without actually meeting me, I plan to show, on paper, what I can offer to the prospective institutions, thus persuading them to admit me. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to incorporate my public relations skills and writing skills to write a great personal statement.

When I came up with a theme for my personal statement, I began writing ideas for main points and supporting details for my essay. At first glance, I felt as if I was selling myself short because I failed to go into detail about myself, specifically by not mentioning good things about myself. Throughout my life, I have been described by older people as being modest or humble when in actuality I thought that if I said too much about myself that I would appear to be boasting or being pretentious.

However, when I began reading James Hoggan's "Do the Right Thing: PR Tips for a Skeptical Public," I realized that for many reasons I had to be my own PR person when writing my personal statement. One reason being that these law school admissions officers are not super heroes and cannot read my mind. I "...can't sit around and assume that everyone will notice that [I] have done something right ...," and that I "...must take [my] reputation into [my] own hands" (p. 4). I also learned that it is not about me seeming as if I am boasting about myself, but it is about realizing that “it’s a matter of making sure that people who are important to [my] business* know what [I] am doing” or what I have done (p. 12). (*Business, in this context, means admissions council.)

After I establish my reputation, I have to believe what I am writing is true (which, of course, it is) so that others can believe I am credible and will be able to trust what I am writing, too. In addition, I also learned that proof and support of my good reputation and credibility lies in the hands of the people whom I ask to recommend me for law school. Just as what Hoggan emphasized in his book, in order for me to further establish my credibility and reputation, I need to be aware of how my public (this case being the people writing my recommendations) thinks of me. This will confirm what I have written about myself in my personal statement and my other application materials, so there will not be any discrepancies in what I am portraying and the person recommending is writing about me.