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    Photo Kianna Duncan

    August 08, 2016

    Court is in Session: Kianna Duncan ’19 Interns with Utica, NY City Courts

    Kianna Duncan ’19 has been spending the summer in and out of Utica’s courts.

    Duncan, a criminology major, is interning with the 5th Judicial District Utica City Court System. She heard about this opportunity through a family friend, a city court judge, and set up her internship through the Office of Career Advising and Development. Throughout her internship, Duncan has worked in the traffic office organizing tickets, the criminal office writing docket cards, and in the courts observing. “I like that everything about my internship is hands-on. I have access to the same files as all of the employees, and they don’t hide anything from me, so it’s a lot easier to learn visually,” she says.

    Throughout her internship, Duncan has had a variety of experiences. “Utica is known for its very diverse population,” she says. “We have over 40 languages spoken throughout our city. The Utica City Courts are pretty hectic.” So far, she has observed traffic, criminal, codes, domestic violence, drug and mental health courts. “It’s a lot different seeing something in person and reading it in a textbook. I think having this first-hand experience is clearing my mind of the sort of mythos of the criminal justice system.” While the work itself is serious, Duncan is learning from and enjoying her time with the variety of people she meets. “I work with a lot of different people: office workers, lawyers, judges and police officers. The mix is nice. Most of the employees attempt to make work as enjoyable as possible.”

    Though Duncan is learning skills that will help her pursue a law degree in the future, she is learning a lot of life lessons along the way too. She credits her criminology classes with teaching her patience. “Taking Cliff Donn’s Intro to Criminology class taught me that patience is key. You’re most likely not going to get something right the first, or second, or even third time,” she says. “I work with clients who are known to push people’s buttons, so patience is so necessary in this type of work.”

    She’s also learning the value of loving what she’s doing, regardless of her situation. “The best piece of advice that was ever given to me was from a police officer. He said, “Don’t work for the money; work for your passion.”

    Learn More:
    Internships

    Career Advising

    Criminology at Le Moyne


    Category: In the Field