Lindsey Spina is a freshman communications major at NSU. She is originally from Orlando, Florida. Spina interned at the law firm for the summer of 2016 and 2017.
When I was 11, I decided that I was going to be an attorney. I had my entire future set and planned to go into family law. As years went on, I kept up with this dream and had my mind set. The summer before my junior year of high school I landed an internship at a law firm in downtown Orlando. I was so excited that I had this opportunity and so ready to step foot into a law firm and see what actually goes on. The first summer was fun and I enjoyed my time there but left that summer a little dejected. As I entered my junior year I was a Dual-Enrollment student so I took all my classes at Valencia College. I made sure to take classes that would fuel my desire even more to become an attorney.
This was the best decision I ever made.
I left that school year even more discouraged than I left my internship because it wasn’t what I expected. As a stubborn person, I didn’t want to let up on what I thought was my dream so I reached out to the law firm and was happy when I heard that I was being brought back on as an intern. I had a few more responsibilities and actually got to work with people and not just my computer and the mail machine. The people at this firm were amazing and wonderful to work with, so that summer was much more exciting— but it still didn’t feel right. It felt as if something was missing when I looked back at that opportunity.
It wasn’t until I finished my fall semester at Valencia and was half way done with my senior year that I realized what I was missing. Passion. I didn’t leave that internship and pre-law classes with the same feeling that consumed me when I was in my journalism class. I made the heart stopping decision to no longer go the route that I thought I wanted to go down since I was 11. It was scary but deep down I think I always knew that journalism was my passion. I woke up every day and didn’t dread going to journalism class like I did my pre-law classes.
I know that I made the right decision about my future and I know that without that internship, I would probably still be on the pre-law route. Internships are extremely important and without them I would be going down a route that isn’t for me and it wouldn’t make me happy. That time I spent two summers of my life interning at a law firm were the best two summers of my life. I am so grateful for that time I spent at the firm because it truly changed my perspective on what I wanted my future to look like.
