Communication studies major and pre-law student immerses herself in legal world

Charlotte Elgie ’25, a communication studies major and global media and digital studies minor at The College of Wooster from Vancouver, Canada, interned at the Lorain County Common Pleas Court in Lorain, Ohio, through an APEX Fellowship. Elgie, an aspiring lawyer, engaged in several facets of legal professions through the experience, including filing documents for a clerk, sitting in on hearings, and participating in arraignments. In frequent communication with her fellowship mentor, Elizabeth Schiltz, Purna, Rao, Raju Chair of Philosophy, Elgie often reflected on her work’s application toward a career, allowing her to visualize sectors of law that she would prefer to practice.

“This internship has opened my eyes to the various types of law I could go into. I want to pursue entertainment law because I want to help people have rights over what they produce.”

—Charlotte Elgie ’25

Q: How did you learn about the opportunity for an APEX Fellowship?

Elgie: I learned about the APEX Fellowship through a friend, who encouraged me to apply because it would provide me with payment for an unpaid internship, and an internship is a great opportunity for career advancement.

Q: What interests you most about the work you did?

Elgie: I am passionate about helping people. In being a lawyer, I could help people attain the justice that they deserve.

Q: Who was your fellowship mentor and how did they help you to succeed in this position?

Elgie: My mentor, Dr. Shiltz, helped answer any questions that I had regarding my work, the hours, and how I was spending my time. She would ask me questions each week that were designed to encourage me to think about how I can use this experience to advance my career. In one of my reflections, I mentioned that the death penalty is still legal in the state of Ohio. In response, she challenged me to think about the idea that my opinion on the death penalty could change over the course of my internship.

Q: What are some skills you’ve learned that you see yourself carrying forward in your career?

Elgie: During my internship I learned about legal vernacular and managing my time with a different schedule every day. I also learned communication skills, including how to talk to lawyers, how to handle an uncomfortable situation, and how to adapt to things that are constantly changing, such as a defendant not showing up to trial.

Q: How has the internship helped you to see what’s next for you? Has this internship experience changed your expected career plans or altered the way you look at your field of study?

Elgie: This internship has opened my eyes to the various types of law I could go into. I want to pursue entertainment law because I want to help people have rights over what they produce. Also, I have always been interested in the entertainment industry. My internship has helped me to determine the areas of law that I am not very interested in. This includes civil law. One thing that surprised me was recovery court, which is when individuals have been charged with a crime and the court has good reason to suspect that the defendant’s use of drugs or alcohol contributed to their behavior. I enjoyed it, and it has given me another type of law that I could potentially practice: criminal law, an area that I was not initially as focused on.

Posted in Experiential Learning, Showcase Stories 2024 on August 10, 2024.