Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)

For my mentor ship with Noreen, I get to go to her firm. I haven't been able to go frequently, but I will start going every week starting next week. The times I have gone we go into her conference room and converse about whats going on at school and do my interview. She is open to any questions I ask, and always is very helpful. At the firm Noreen works with her father and other associates. I plan to talk to them too, and interview her father.

People trying to help me when I didn't have a mentor.

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you?  

At the beginning of the year It was hard for me to find a mentor, but Mrs.Ortega actually put me in contact with my mentor. I asked her if she would be my mentor and she agreed. I explained to her that I would be working with her all year. She gladly accepted and is always up to help me on anything.

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person

I've only gone with my mentor twice and that was to interview her. Each time after the interview I stayed to chat with her, and I can say I feel very comfortable with her. She isn't closed up or uptight at all. She is also young and has a very free personality. She encourages me to ask as many questions as I want, and is very welcoming. I am actually going to see her this Saturday. She invited me to a legal fair so that I can observe what she does, and many of her peers that will be there.

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?

During this interview I was able to get more of a back ground on my mentors life. I'm not exactly sure on what can improve. Like I said my mentor is open to answer any question I ask, and I'm not to shy to hold back. Its going to be different to interview someone who isn't my mentor, but I'm sure that it will go good. I think I can come up with new questions and try to have better transitions on to the questions.

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

I do have a mentor, her name is Noreen Barcena. She is an attorney, and works in her offices in East LA. I have not yet interviewed my mentor, but will be interviewing her soon. I have scheduled the interview for Friday the 23rd. 

Me everyday of the week.

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.   

The criminal Justice system has always interested me. When we first began the senior project I was sure that I wanted to focus on the defense process. Now that I've thought more about it and started to research more into my topic. I am now starting to like the evolution of crime and punishment. I feel that this specific area of the criminal justice system is promising to me because in the end I'm going to find some sort of result. Also I feel like I can get a lot of feed back from people and what they think about the evolution of the criminal justice system. I'm excited to see what other people think about this particular topic.

3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?

I think that I will need to ask people who have experience in the criminal justice system to get a bit more of depth. I want the opinion of professionals and my peers so that I can compare and see what everyone is thinking. I can easily get my peers opinion, and I can also attempt to get in contact with professionals my mentor knows.

4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

How has the criminal justice system evolved over the past one hundred years, and how has society been effected?

Blog 8: Independent Component 1 Proposal

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

For my independent component I plan to watch at least 20 films that have to do with the criminal justice system. The films I will be watching will give me an idea of how the system works and hopefully its faults as well. I will be watching movies that are both based on true events and some that were created by Hollywood's finest. Each movie will range from an hour to three hours, and after I watch each film I will analyze them and write some notes and  a summary. I hope to gain a perspective of each angle of the criminal justice system and evaluate they way each position is done. 

Lincoln Lawyer was recommended to me by my mentor. 

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I'm not entirely sure how I will prove my hours, but each time I will watch a film I can record the time and date onto a log. I can also have a system, like for example every time I watch a film I can write a summary and have my house teacher check it off.

3.  Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

I'm a big fan of film, and this is a great opportunity to combine learning and something I enjoy. By watching the films I can get the chance to explore the different perspectives of the criminal justice system. At the beginning of the year I wanted to focus on just the defense part of the criminal justice system. As the research checks keep going by I'm starting to gain more interest on how each aspect comes together, and the way its changed over the years. Watching the films from different eras will allow me to really see how the criminal justice system has been viewed or interpreted over the years.

Blog 7- Second Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert?

My mentor is Noreen Barcena she is a criminal justice and immigration attorney. She works at Law Offices of Noreen L. Barcena along with her father and other associates. Noreen graduated in 2012 from University of La Verne College of Law. Although she hasn't been practicing law for a long time she has so much knowledge of her field. Her father is Gustavo Barcena who was the former president of the Mexican American Bar Association. She grew up having her father as a guide into the critical world of law. Now Noreen is a member of the Mexican American Bar Association. She is an expert because she not only can share her knowledge with me but has a web of connections.

Mexican American Bar Association
(Noreen Barcena is the first one on the first row.)

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

1) After you graduated from law school, did you know what your next step was going to be?

2) What was your first experience in court like?And was it what you expected?

3) Did your fathers background give you any advantages or disadvantages? What was your experience like?

4) How did you first start out with the Mexican American Bar Association?

5) How did you transition from your first major to specifically law? How did you explain to your friends, mentors, and family?

Blog 6: Advisory House Prep

1) What has worked well for you senior project this year? What has made it a positive experience for you?

I didn't really think I was going to be able to actually find a mentor. There was just issues about how i would get there and when she was available, but I'm really glad it was worked out. I was a little bit concerned when I figured out I had mixed up the due dates for the interview. I didn't know if i was going to be a be to get it done. My mentor was super cool about it and made the time for me to see her which was great! I think the way we treat each other is something thats worked out really great. Even though she's so put together she doesn't treat me like I'm any less compared to her. I'm still adjusting to senior year. In my opinion all the support we get from everyone has been a really positive experience. Theres so much effort that goes into the senior project and its really great that everyone has a part to play.

2) What are you finding difficult concerning senior year? How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you? How might the senior team help? 

Coming back for my senior year I didn't really know what to expect. I always heard it was going to be a lot of work. I think my biggest issue is the fact that almost everything is done on the blog or turned into turn it on. I personally can say I'm not the best with technology! I have all these amazing friends that can help but as soon as I attempt it on my own I get all confused. The woking bibliography is the real issue right now for me. I know it's important to cite your sources so that the senior team can make sure you're doing your research. I am doing my research every week I'm just struggling to do the WB. Something I'm going to do is have one of my friends help me out so that I can feel more comfortable working with the blog. Well the senior team were the ones to advise me to ask a friend for help so I really appreciate that they always offer support and suggestions.

Blog 5: Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

I was actually pretty nervous to interview my mentor just because I didn't feel like I would come up with good follow up questions. Once we started though it all just came so naturally. My mentor was so informative and really brought up some good points. Something important I learned from the interview was that you really have to be prepared. Know what you're talking about and be able to be clear about it and not over complicate. Of course though that's something I always do. The most important thing I learned though was that everyone has the right to be defended no matter the situation. During this interview I was kind of hesitant to interrupt and ask a question if I was confused. My mentor actually told me that its good to ask questions because that's the only way to learn. So for my next interviews I definitely want to pause and ask a question if I didn't understand something.

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

My mentor actually gave me the names of two resources I can use. A book called Smart on Crime by Kamala Harris. From what I was told shes a great attorney and my mentor admires her philosophy. She also recommended me a film called Lincoln Lawyer which I'm looking forward to watch. Luckily my mentor has many contacts that she can put me in touch with. Her father is actually a really good attorney who I met during my interview with my mentor. I'm really happy that they are as excited for this journey like me! I think the fact that my mentor has so many contacts is the most useful because there's just so much more possibilities with an opening like that.

Noreen Barcena
(Mentor)

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 

My mentor has experience, and a variety of connections she can contact me with.  She really is leader that wants to make a difference with what she is passionate about. Not only that but shes just such a humble person and genuinely wants to help me. 

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep 1

This year I will be learning about criminal justice and 

what a criminal justice attorney does. Senior year is 

about figuring ourselves out. We're getting the opportunity 

to explore a topic we might end up doing for the rest of

our lives. Some of us will find our passion with in our topic.

Others will realize that they want to go in another direction.

For the next few months I hope to learn as much as I can

from my mentor. I want to be able to experience the field and

learn from my mistakes. I want my perspective to grow 

along with what I'll be learning.  My topic has a variety of

different situations! I can't wait to see what I'm going to be put up against in the future.