PILI is delighted to welcome Jenna Silver as our 2015 Intern Representative to the Alumni Network Leadership Council. A former teacher, Jenna decided she wanted to make the world better for her students, so she enrolled in law school at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she is now in her second year. Last summer, she worked as a PILI Intern with Equip for Equality’s Special Education Team, a position that helped her shape her career goals.
“My PILI Internship at Equip for Equality helped me realize that I feel most fulfilled when working directly with clients,” Jenna said. She also felt motivated by the people she worked with. “I loved being surrounded by so many people who care deeply about the greater good.”
Even after her summer PILI Internship ended and fall classes began, Jenna continued with Equip for Equality, building on her skills and seeing her cases through to resolution. She also works part time in the admissions office at Loyola and tutors a 1L class.
She will also compete in the upcoming International Academy of Dispute Resolution (INADR) Mediation Competition. She first realized she was interested in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at one of PILI’s Educational Seminars.
“The summer training that PILI provided about active listening gave me immediate, practical, and useful skills and introduced me to the Center for Conflict Resolution and helped me identify my genuine interest in ADR,” she said.
This semester, she has been serving as a mediator and program extern at the Center for Conflict Resolution, where she will also work as a PILI Intern this summer. She credits PILI with opening her eyes to different career options available for students who want to work on behalf of the public interest.
“As a law student with a deep desire to work in the public interest field, I realized through PILI that the opportunities to help others are not simply limited to working with civil legal aid providers,” she said. “I’ve been really amazed at the role that nonprofit organizations play, as well as the amazing amount of service that pro bono attorneys offer through their work.”
Jenna has been staying involved with PILI through her role on the Alumni Council, and we are grateful for her dedication to our mission and programs. We are excited to see where her law school and public interest law career take her.