Santana Kavanaugh (NYU Gallatin) |National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers| NYC, United States
Hello Everyone,
I write amidst a difficult time. It has been exactly a week since I started my internship with the National Association of Defense Lawyers, and while I’m enjoying my time in Washington, D.C., it was also a week ago that I lost a close family member. I hold a great deal of responsibility within my family because I am a first-generation student and the eldest of five. In all honesty, it is my family that motivated me to open the doors that I walk through today, and so not being able to support them in person has been perplexing, to say the least. Although recent days have been tough, I have hope in the days ahead. Interestingly enough, this situation has, in a way, brought me more motivation for this project. As I video call my family each day, I am reminded of the reason why I’m here.
On a more positive note,
I was a bit nervous about working for NACDL mostly because of how professional and educated the staff is. I’d like to think that I have these traits as well, but as a young person, there is always an assumption that I am lacking in these areas—well, I haven’t received any complaints yet. I think they like me!
Currently, I’m working on one of NACDL’s racial justice initiatives called “50 Years of Mass Incarceration,” which is a project aimed at educating people on the history of mass incarceration and the current local and federal policy efforts to end the exponentially growing rate of incarcerated individuals in the United States. Furthermore, I’ve been doing research with NACDL’s Fourth Amendment Department to learn about the way that technology produces racial injustice within the legal system. I look forward to learning more about the way race impacts our criminal justice system.
I am very grateful for this experience, and even given the circumstances, I know that I belong in the space that I’m in.
Thank you for reading.
-S.K