OUR PROGRAM'S ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES

Our Summer Legal Fellowship Program provides participants with two months of full-time educational and employment activities during the summer, and we provide summer program graduates with ongoing mentoring and other follow-up support.

• Internships in law, government and nonprofit offices complemented by customized support
    Click here for a list of our internship host agencies.
• Exploration of our system of law and government through academic classes, interactive exercises, mock trials, interactions with legal professionals, and engagement with current events
• Career development and college preparation activities
• Curriculum developing self-awareness, emotional intelligence, social competence and leadership skills
• Stipends
• Mentoring and other activities supporting the young people's educational and career pursuits after they complete the summer program

Through our program, the young people develop:

• Employment skills
• Academic and critical thinking skills
• Communication skills
• Emotional intelligence
• Conflict management skills

• of the role and workings of our system of law and government
• of how law can be used as an avenue for social change
• of various career pathways related to law
• of how to access and pay for higher education
• Understanding of their individual strengths, values, passions and challenges

• Relationships with caring adults and positive peers
• Ongoing connection to a supportive community

• Career and life goals that will lead to self-sufficiency and personal fulfillment
• Self-confidence in their ability to reach their goals
• Commitment to reach their academic potential
• Understanding of how to succeed in a professional environment
• Motivation to contribute to the community as citizens and leaders

• Building on the interests and assets the young people already possess
• Staff and mentors who are ethnically diverse and who have similar backgrounds to the youth
• Small classes, varied instructional strategies and individualized attention
• Giving participants roles of responsibility within the program
• Building a community among the youth and staff that enables participants to feel a sense of belonging and safety
• Fostering enduring, mutually supportive bonds
• Holding program activities on the UC Berkeley campus to reinforce the value and accessibility of higher education

Many program graduates give back to the program by serving as guest speakers and mentors to our new students, helping with recruitment and fundraising, and working as summer program instructors.