Political Leadership Program Offers Students Professional Experience

teacher Katherine Law spent a good chunk of her childhood at  and is now giving her students the same chance to experience life in a professional setting  as part of the school's Political Leadership program.

“For these kids, it’s their first crack at the professional world and they’re getting it so much earlier than their peers,” said Law, 32, of Canton, whose aunt, Sharon Law, served as West Bloomfield Township clerk for 20 years and cousin, David Law, served as a state representative from West Bloomfield. “Kids today are coming out of college and needing unpaid internships to gain job experience, but these kids already have that.”

Beginning in the fall, Political Leadership offers 21 juniors and seniors to engage in two semester-long internships in a variety of civic and legal settings.

Senior Emily Rozin, 17, said she has been able to parlay her fall internship with Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Lisa Gorcyca and her spring internship with personal injury lawyer Franci Silver into a possible paid internship for the upcoming summer. “Judge Gorcyca directly said, ‘Contact me closer to the summer’ for another internship, and Franci asked if I was available for a possible paid internship,” said Rozin, who plans to study undergraduate business finance at either the Michigan State University Honors College or the University of Michigan next fall before moving on to law school. “So, decisions, decisions. I really enjoy the courtroom setting.”

Several students commented that they enjoyed the feeling of having a “real” job, including Mac Coddington, 18, who worked on Gov. Rick Snyder’s successful fall campaign and currently works in Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson's office of communications and media.

“It’s an awesome experience to have a real job and be on time, just working in a professional setting,” said Coddington, who is the student body president at WBHS. “In a professional setting, you’re more accountable for your actions.”

The program also helps the students begin to network, Law said. “(Rozin) already has a connection. Not a lot of kids can knock on Gorcyca’s door and get a response. Brooks wants to talk to Mac — he wants Mac’s opinion on ways to use social media. So, this definitely helps serve a real professional purpose.”

'It gives me a sense of security'

The course, which requires 40 hours of work per semester in addition to classroom time spent discussing and writing students’ experiences on assignments such as thank you letters and resumes, is primarily designed to broaden students’ understanding of the government process and instill a value of public service, Law said.

Seniors Jon Nafson and Saad Habib said that after working together at the in the fall semester, they better understand the life of a law enforcement officer.

“We did a lot, but it was most interesting when we went for ride-alongs, because you could really understand how difficult it is to be a cop,” said Habib, 17, who now works at the American Civil Liberties Union in a paralegal position and hopes to study law at the university level. “I feel like I have that background now, that kind of trust, and that just helps everyday life.”

Nafson, who is thinking about pursuing a career in detective work, agreed. “To be honest, it gives me a sense of security that I didn’t have before," he said. "Like, if I get pulled over, I’m not nervous. I feel like we got a taste of what it’s really like.”

After working in the office of West Bloomfield Township Supervisor Michele Economou Ureste in the fall, senior David Kakos, 18, said he can better understand how a public official is elected to a position of responsibility. “It’s more obvious to me now why she was elected: because she can take charge of a situation and do it in a caring way," Kakos said. "She leads by example.”

Law, who also teaches AP World History, feels rewarded by offering students the chance to feel an appreciation for public services. “I spent my childhood on campaigns and at town hall and I feel like it’s helped me to do what it is that I do now, which feels great,” she said. “Through these internships, students acquire the skills necessary to be ‘the best in and for the world.’”

The Political Leadership program will be expanded to allow 31 students the chance to serve internships with new partners at the U.S. Army, the West Bloomfield School District and the Chaldean-American Chamber of Commerce in Southfield, Law said. “We have to turn down some extremely intelligent and motivated kids just because there’s not enough room,” she said. “The students love it as much as the professionals we work with do.”