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Profile
of Jamie Cortazzo, Intern, Jurist, Pitt Law School, 8/05
Photo and Story by Sarah Kotzman
PPW/Writing Center Publicity Intern
Jamie Cortazzo, a senior Politics and Philosophy major,
didn’t let a broken leg keep her from working toward law school
or from joining the PPW program. In addition to a certificate in
Conceptual Foundations of Medicine, Jamie is working towards her
PPW certificate, currently interning at the University of Pittsburgh
Law School by writing for their website, JURIST.
JURIST displays breaking legal news throughout Pitt’s law
school 24/7, as well as on the Web. JURIST’s audience also
includes other law schools and legal professionals. Jamie, the only
undergraduate team member, writes updates with other “anchors.”
Besides editing other posts, Jamie multi-tasks between at least
4 windows throughout her shift: JURIST updates, the Blogger search
engine, Google, and of course, her composition. Each story takes
roughly 30 minutes to compose, and then she’s quickly on to
the next.
Jamie heard about the internship through Pam O’Brien, and
contacted her future supervisor Professor Bernard Hibbitts. After
an interview, Hibbitts gave Jamie a JURIST style guide and asked
her to complete an online try out. After studying the book and teaching
herself basic html, Jamie logged on to post as many updates as she
could within two hours. Immediately after her test, Jamie got the
job.
At first, Jamie worked 40 hours a week. Traditionally, an internship
occupies 10-15 hours of a student’s week. However, Jamie feels
her fast-paced introduction helped her catch on quickly, and after
a week, she felt comfortable working amidst legal information and
AP style. “After my first two weeks, my supervisor said that
I was doing better than many of the law students he had worked with
before, so that made me feel great,” Jamie says. “I
didn’t expect to be held up to such high standards, but was
really glad to find out that I met them.”
“The real life experience is simply amazing and the networking
cannot be beat,” Jamie says, believing her now extensive knowledge
on legal issues will help her achieve acceptance into law school.
In her next internship (location T.B.A.), Jamie plans to get out
from behind the computer screen for more face-to-face interaction.
In the fall, she plans to take the LSAT’s and apply for law
school, all steps towards her dream of becoming a lawyer or politician.
She also hopes to travel, have a family and own a few dogs.
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