By Afnaan M., LAWS summer student
My name is Afnaan M. and I am a high school student who is a part of the LAWS (Law in Action Within Schools) program.
The LAWS program provides many opportunities to high school students in grades 10 to 12, from participating in mock trials to being mentored by law students. The program lets students like me learn about different aspects of law and how they affect our day-to-day lives, while also teaching us more about ongoing issues around the world and life after high school. A great opportunity the LAWS program offers is the summer job program, which I was a part of.
This summer, over 100 students from different schools had the chance to work at a variety of places such as law firms, government offices, nonprofit organizations, and courthouses for 4 to 8 weeks. These placements allowed us to get an inside look at work after high school and how the legal sector functions. I was fortunate enough to be able to work at The Law Foundation of Ontario during the month of August. I learned a lot through my placement and it was an enlightening experience.
The Foundation is made up of a diverse set of people with different jobs, backgrounds, and ideas. I was able to sit down and speak with nearly everyone in the office and they each gave me a variety of tasks to do. Through my interactions with different people at the office and completion of various tasks, there was always something I took away from each day of work. I filed, updated contact lists, did research, drafted social media posts, read up on the Foundation’s grantees, and even went on a tour of the Law Society of Ontario. I also got the chance to see a variety of paths one could take after high school and university. All members of the Foundation had interesting stories to tell and they each provided a different perspective of the organization.
Members of the Foundation do many great things to improve access to justice and it was a pleasure to contribute to the work that they do and their efforts to reach out to different communities. Working with such a passionate group of people has encouraged me to continue to work towards a career that brings out that same level of passion within me.
This summer job program has helped me expand my skill set, become more familiar with the inner workings of organizations, get to know a variety of people, get a closer look at life after schooling and, in the end, I grew on a personal and professional level. Working at the Foundation was amazing, as the experience surpassed my expectations. I hope I can get the chance to work at an organization like The Law Foundation of Ontario again in the future.
