Sunday Read: Intern Experience: Shannie
This summer, I had the opportunity to intern at the National Whistleblower Center (NWC) as part of my university’s DC internship program, also known as UCDC. I’m a current undergraduate student at the University of California, Irvine, pursuing a Bachelor’s in English with an interest in law. I’m double minoring in Psychological Sciences and Humanities and Law.
In this Sunday Read, I recount my experience as an NWC intern.
My Time during a DC Summer
I wanted to come to DC because I knew it would be an amazing opportunity to further explore my career interests within the legal field, as it is quite literally the center of where all of it happens. I came ready to absorb and learn everything and anything about the legal field, public advocacy, the government systems, the world, and about myself.
Before starting my internship, I had some familiarity with whistleblowing, but I didn’t know a lot about it. I’ve heard the term before when I used to work in retail. I would read about it in the onboarding training courses or see the posters hanging in the breakroom, but I didn’t think too much about it then. I never thought about the behind-the-scenes side of advocating for expanding those rights and programs and protecting whistleblowers. This internship gave me the invaluable experience of being a part of the advocacy side of it all.
During my time at NWC, I realized how much of a wide range whistleblowing plays in a lot of the subject matters I’m interested in, like combatting climate change, corporate greed, healthcare wrongdoings, and corruption within our government. I was able to attend a senate hearing on Capitol Hill regarding healthcare transparency, and I discerned how whistleblowers have helped expose fraud within the healthcare industry and keep these entities accountable. Through research, I got to explore more subtopics in environmental issues, such as carbon markets, and I assisted in trying to find innovative solutions for how NWC can help fight the climate crisis by keeping carbon markets in check using whistleblowing resources.
Additionally, at the beginning of my internship, I had the opportunity to attend a talk hosted by the Washington Council of Lawyers, which contained a panel of journalists who specialize in covering the Supreme Court. The talk was intriguing, getting to hear their differing opinions of the Supreme Court as the years have gone by and analyzing the political shifts within the court. I got to chat with one of the panelists afterward, Abbie Vansickle from the New York Times, and ask her some questions. I also met other interns in the DC area and got to network with them.
I will say, the most notable part of my internship experience would have to be National Whistleblower Day (NWD). This was a rewarding experience seeing everything we planned come to fruition. I loved hearing all the speakers, senators, and whistleblowers talk and share their stories and passion about the importance of whistleblowing. I’m very thankful to have been a part of something like that.
I think when people think of the law it’s often distorted to just good guy versus bad guy, case closed, it ends there. But the reality isn’t that simple. These are real people, and sometimes good people don’t always win in the law.
It has always been my intention that when I practice law, I want to uphold empathy. The legal process is already gruesome and dehumanizing as it is, but if I can be the person to offer them support, be the person they can trust and feel seen by, I want to honor that. I think hearing their stories and their backgrounds at NWD was a good reminder of why I want to uphold those values in a field where everything feels so distant.
This leads me to my final takeaway of my experience here, and probably my most important one.
I came to DC wanting to learn more about the legal field, and I feel like I did. I learned about different avenues I can explore in pursuing law. When people would ask me which area of law I was interested in practicing, my answers were always criminal, immigration, or environmental. However, after this internship, I’ve learned that I could represent whistleblowers in legal matters, and possibly get to address all three of those issues in some other form. It’s not a decided thing, but it’s something I get to consider now that I didn’t know before.
I also discovered that I could get a juris doctorate and pursue a career in writing. I learned this at the panel; all journalists went to law school and then became journalists to cover SCOTUS. Now I know that it’s also an option for me to practice law for a few years and then channel my knowledge into something I really enjoy: writing.
Nonetheless, this experience has been truly eye-opening for me, both in my personal journey and in my career aspirations. I would like to thank the amazing team at NWC for being so welcoming to me during my time here. I will miss my strolls on the Georgetown Waterfront and around the neighborhoods as I return to California, but I am grateful for this wonderful experience.
Resources For Whistleblowers
The decision to come forward is not one to be taken lightly, nor should selecting a whistleblower lawyer. NWC provides resources that can connect you with the right legal professional.
Support NWC
NWC fights to bolster whistleblower programs, inform the public and employees in all sectors about available laws and protections, and help connect them with the right legal representation. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit our awareness building work is made possible with the support of our generous donors. Please consider donating $100 today to help us continue to educate the public on how to find help when it is time for them to blow the whistle, and donors will receive a copy of Rules for Whistleblowers: A Handbook for Doing What’s Right, written by Stephen M. Kohn.
This article was researched and written by Shannie Luu, a student of English at University of California, Irvine.
