Happy new year, everyone! Let me quote a nurse from my doctor’s office “I hope that 2009 will be much better than 2008.” Yep…so I’m heading back to Swat this Saturday and I’m not sure how excited I am about it. I wouldn’t mind the work so much if I had unlimited time to do it (haha) but I’m not sure what I feel about being stressed out and being overworked at times.

Anyway winter break has been good and I’m in the Bay Area for my externship. psst..I never said this but I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO. The weather has been abnormally warm here; it's great! I've been hanging around Civic Center and taking random walks everywhere and it's beautiful. :) I have really enjoyed my externship at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. I got a chance to sit in court to watch a jury selection for a case involving the death penalty, I saw a live cross-examination of a witness. I saw a range of trials/hearings from major crimes to petty offenses (i.e. parking tickets). Tomorrow is my last day and I have no idea what I'm going to do tomorrow but I'm betting it's something exciting. :) I guess I’ve always considered law school as one of my options since I was in high school but I didn’t really think seriously about it until a few months ago. And what’s great though is that most of the advice that I got from the lawyers and law clerks is to take time off after I graduate from Swat, and for now, I think that's what I'll plan to do before I make any definite plans...

so I spent all of winter break eating, sleeping, reading, shopping, and working. I read some really great books including The Informant, by Kurt Eichenwald, a book my extern host recommended to me. It is FANTASTIC and of course, I can’t forget to mention that the author is a Swat alum from the 80’s. The book is about an executive at the Archer Daniels Midland Company who leaks to the FBI about the company’s price-fixing scheme…and that’s about all I should really say since anything more would ruin the (amazing) plot twist. The book did keep me on the edge of my seat for awhile so if you want something enthralling, pick it up!

I also started doing a lot of work and research for my Lang Opportunity Scholarship project which I would love YOUR help on if you have some free time (all I need is 10 minutes of your time)! I’m working on researching for my Lang Opportunity Scholarship project; the more I research, the more I excited I am about the possibilities!
 

• Have you ever participated in city government in any capacity (e.g. a youth advisory board or youth commission). If not, in what ways would you have liked to participate?

• Is there anything you would like the city, local, or federal government to do to help your living (e.g. financial, education) situation?
• Did you learn about civic engagement in school? In your home? Where or when have you been exposed to information about the American political system and politics in general? If you didn't have any lessons, where did you end up learning about politics?
• What issues are important to you? education? immigration? the environment? public transportation?
• Have you participated in any youth organizations? advocacy organizations?

I don't have a concrete plan yet but I know that I want to work with youth, civic engagement, politics, etc etc and if you wouldn’t mind helping me out, please shoot me an e-mail ASAP. I would love to get your feedback whether you're a student, a parent, a teacher, anyone. Or if you know of anyone or any organization that I should contact, please let me know! My e-mail is KLAM1 at SWARTHMORE.EDU. Thanks a lot for your help!