Week 1: Introduction

My name is Angel Scales and I am a rising junior at Wake Forest University. Over the past year, I discovered academic interests in the social sciences and declared a major in sociology with a concentration in crime and criminal justice. Crime and criminal justice has become a passion of mine. Not only do I love the subject, I one day hope to serve a career related to this area of study. To begin my career journey, I would like to reflect on who I am. This past academic year, I learned more about myself. On campus, I worked as a Resident Adviser, was a member of Alexander Literary Organization (a service organization who brings education into a near-by maximum security prison), and traveled to Chicago, Illinois over spring break where I volunteered with Casa Central (a social service agency assisting the Hispanic community). From my job (as well as my classes), I learned that I am organized, deliberate, and constantly seeking to learn and better myself. From the other activities, I learned that I enjoy helping and serving others, especially those in underrepresented groups. With my above mentioned interests and traits, I am currently looking to establish a career in law or law enforcement. This summer, I hope to explore one career possibility with my internship.
Starting tomorrow, I will be interning with the Center for Family Violence Prevention (CFVP) in Greenville, North Carolina. I sought out this particular internship because the CFVP is a non-profit social service agency who works with both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. The agency intersects boundaries between local citizens, law enforcement agencies, and the legal community. My role will be working with court services and case management. Throughout the internship, I hope to become more professional and increase my relationship building and networking skills all the while narrowing my career interests. I want to learn more about working for a nonprofit, working in the court, and in general, working as a professional. I hope to expand my knowledge on domestic violence, its prevention efforts, and services offered to victims. By the end of the summer, I expect to have formulated a somewhat clearer picture of what I hope to do after college. Overall, I hope this summer will be productive, exciting, and influential to my career pathway!