Profile

Generally prosecution of people who commit crimes. Specifically, my unit handles civil commitments to locked hospitals for mentally ill criminals who remain dangerous.

Government office building with 200 attorneys.

Attorneys, Judges, clerical staff, police officers, mental health professionals.

Going to court to conduct a hearing or trial, or working in the office reviewing files to prepare for trial.

Communication, persuasion, organization.

40 hour work week unless I am in trial.

No

Giving closing argument in trial.

Jury selection – it’s a crapshoot.

Giving the victims of past crimes some justice – preventing possible future crimes by taking violent sex predators off the street.

Wonderful teachers I had over the years.

That I should work to live – not live to work. It’s important to have a job that engages you. But your job does not define you and family and friends are so much more important.

I was advised to try to get a job in a law firm during the summer in law school. I knew I wanted to be a prosecutor. Every potential employer could see that too. I did not get any call backs. All it did was shake my already fragile law student confidence and waste a lot of time. I should have skipped the firm interviews and just focused on applying for government internships.

Follow your heart and your dreams for a career but keep grounded in friends and family.

Sometimes I think I would have been less burned out in law school if I had taken a few years off before. Then again I might not have met my husband and other close friends at work.

Gatherings with friends and extended family, mommy/son music class once a week, read (not as much as I would like), watch TV, scrapbook (not as much as I would like), I take an adult ballet class.

I love planning my son’s birthday party each year and making a really creative looking cake.

I have a wonderful husband who believes marriage and parenthood is a partnership. Unless I am in trial I am out of work by 5 to spend time with my son. I am also fortunate to have in laws who live close who care for my son while my husband and I work.

[Vonda also just had a new baby girl to add to the mix.]

Hard work, perseverance, being blissfully ignorant of some of the roadblocks.

College and law school straight through.

I decided after an 8th grade career exploration project that I wanted to be an attorney.

It’s hard not to take the loss of a trial personally. It’s hard to keep in mind that temporary job setbacks are just little blips on a long career and should not negatively define you.