Past Pre‐Law Interns

Zaccheus is a senior at the University of San Diego majoring in International Relations with minors in International Business and Law and Ethics. He will apply to law schools after graduation in May 2024 and seeks to practice corporate law in the future. USD’s Centers of Public Interest Law allowed him to explore what a legal career looks like and how much research goes into the work.

As an intern at the Consumer Protection Policy Center, Zaccheus researched state regulatory agencies and tracked the movements of the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. In addition to his research on regulatory agencies, Zaccheus also aided in a research project on generative AI systems and their effects on licensed professionals. He created an Excel sheet including enacted AI legislation in the US and EU and pending AI legislation in the US and EU. This sheet helped him analyze the comparisons and differences between the US and the EU’s legislation on AI systems. Also, he took notes on numerous articles about AI to analyze views for and against the systems’ regulation.

Zaccheus’s time at the CPIL further motivated his passion to apply to law schools after graduation. By gaining invaluable skills and familiarizing himself with the legal sphere, Zaccheus’s time with the Consumer Protection Policy Center was well-spent and allowed him to serve the locals of San Diego.

Maryam is currently a senior at University of California, San Diego, majoring in both Public Health, concentrating in Health Policy and Management, and Clinical Psychology. Informed by her lower socioeconomic status background, personal experiences with the Medi-Cal health insurance system, and working at Blue Shield, Maryam plans on obtaining a JD degree and focus on the application of healthcare and health-related law in uplifting vulnerable populations.

At the Centers for Public Interest Law, specifically the Consumer Protection Policy Center, Maryam learned about the distinct methods in ensuring the accountability of government regulatory boards and agencies. In this capacity, she performed research on the implications of cryptocurrency both domestically and internationally, and related policies and legal cases that regulate crypto. Moreover, she researched the Dental Board of California and the California Public Utilities Commission, composing reports about their activities and current legislation. Maryam also edited the California Regulatory Law Reporter.

Her time as an intern at the CPIL has further emboldened her passion for advocacy, and has equipped her with the skills to critically analyze current policies and legal cases. This internship program has reinforced her desire to apply to law schools in the next year and to work with other advocacy organizations, including the ACLU.

Ysabella is a junior at the University of California Los Angeles majoring in Communications with a minor in Philosophy. She hopes to go into immigration or international relations law in the future, and USD’s Centers of Public Interest law allowed her to explore what a legal career could look like. As a San Diego native, she was ecstatic that the CPIL gave her the opportunity to give back to her community!

As an intern under the Consumer Protection Policy Center, Ysabella researched state regulatory agencies and kept a record of their board meetings. Specifically, she tracked the movements of the California Board of Pharmacy, State Bar of California, and the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. By keeping tabs on these regulatory agencies, she hopes that she was able to aid her community through transparency.

In addition to her research on regulatory agencies, Ysabella also aided in a research project on cryptocurrency, creating a master list including basic facts about crypto, views for and against the currency’s regulation, and charts that consolidate both national and global regulations on the currency.

Finally, she had the amazing opportunity to be an editorial assistant for the California Regulatory Law Reporter!

Ysabella hopes to attend law school after undergrad, and her time at the CPIL only ignited this passion further. Not only did it give her the necessary skills needed to familiarize herself with the legal sphere, but it gave her the privilege of servicing her neighbors in San Diego.

Faith, a senior at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, brings a diverse range of skills to her internship. Alongside her business studies, she's pursuing minors in Spanish and Art History, showcasing her passion for varied disciplines. Her enthusiasm for helping her community led her to the USD Pre-Law internship, an internship in her hometown, where she joined the Consumer Protection Policy Center.

Faith's primary focus was on researching the intricate interplay between artificial intelligence and regulatory agencies and boards in California. Her work delved into the profound influence of AI on legislation and rule-making processes, this advanced her passion for understanding and shaping the future landscape of policy in a technology-driven world.

Prior to this internship, I only had a little experience with legal research. Going into my junior year at USD, I was extremely excited to intern with USD’s Schoool of Law Centers for Public Interest Law. I knew it would be a great opportunity to look closely at policies affecting the community, while also learning more about the law program. Working with the Consumer Protection Policy Center was a great way to learn some of the skills and resources necessary for navigating legal research. I particularly enjoyed looking up ongoing legislation and seeing where a bill was in the process of becoming a law. I feel as if this is something that could be beneficial to everyone, since it is important to know what bills you could be affected by. It was also interesting to watch and evaluate the agency committee meetings, seeing the language members used and how they were able to present arguments for the policies they supported.

Before this internship, I was set on pursuing criminal law and was not aware of how much consumer law affects everyone daily. However, through researching consumer agencies and pertinent issues such as artificial intelligence, I feel as if a new field has opened to me.