Name: Koren Woznicki
Class Year: 2023
Major: Literatures in English
Hometown: Lambertville, NJ
Internship Organization: New Jersey Office of the Attorney General
Job Title: Division of Criminal Justice Intern
Location: Trenton, NJ (remote)
This summer, I am working as an undergraduate intern in the Office of the Attorney General of New Jersey. More specifically, I am working in the Criminal Justice Division in the Grants Bureau. While this internship has been virtual up to this point, there are opportunities to attend in-person events and trainings at the R.J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton, New Jersey. I am very comfortable and familiar in this environment, as I had the opportunity to work as an intern in state government last summer in Trenton. Additionally, as a bit of a fun fact, I actually attended pre-school in the Justice Complex, so you could say I am familiar with the building!
I decided to apply for this internship due to my interest in a legal career. This program offers the possibility of gaining first-hand experience both observing and working in the legal field; I value this experience highly, especially due to the low volume of internships in this filed that accept undergraduate students as interns. It is typical for legal internships to seek law students who have already completed some legal studies and have some experience in the profession. I was extremely grateful to have been granted the opportunity to work for the DCJ and benefit from both the curated programs and networking opportunities targeting undergraduate and law students as well as the ability to have my work directly supervised by a professional in the Bureau.
The opportunities awarded in this internship are twofold; the DCJ has committed to creating a thorough program targeting the needs and interests of students, both undergraduate and currently attending law schools, who are confident in a desire to possess a legal career. The program offers a host of opportunities, including everything from casual "Lunch Table" meetings between interns and the internship coordinators, to question and answer sessions with Acting Attorney General Platkin himself. The DCJ has organized workshops discussing relevant topics such as implicit bias training, mock trail preparation, resume building, and interview strategies, as well as providing the ability to attend various panel discussions in which employees of the Office of the Attorney General discuss their line of work and answer questions posed by the interns. We are also able to observe court appearances, as well as have access to documentary-style reports of famous cases, such as the Aurora Movie Theater Case.
The other side of this internship is the element of working directly under an OAG employee. I am being supervised by the Director of Grants, therefore I am completing most of my assignments for the Grants Bureau. Working in Grants has been a really fulfilling experience, as I did not have previous exposure to the types of documents and information I encounter in this position. I have been able to grow my skills in comprehending budget sheets and other official government documents, as well as practicing the meticulous task of editing and reviewing these documents according to both federal and state guidelines. I have learned a lot thus far through this opportunity, and I am ecstatic to have been approved to continue working past the official end date and into the fall semester. I look forward to gaining more experience working for the DCJ in the OAG!
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.