BUGS, BATS, ERIE, OH MY!!

Zarinah Akbar
Northwestern Legal Services
Erie, Pennsylvania

Between the bugs and the bats, my internship at Northwestern Legal Services in Erie, Pennsylvania, has been quite an experience.  It is one that I will not soon forget.  Hmm, but where shall I begin?  Let’s start with the BATS!!!!!!!

            While preparing for work, late, one Sunday afternoon, I decided to do my laundry.  Upon returning to the laundry room to put the freshly washed clothes into the dryer, I saw something fly past the doorway.  Before entering, I took a second look to see what was flying.  Then it happened, this “thing” began to fly towards me.  I ducked into a corner and began screaming at the top of my lungs. No one bothered to see what was wrong.  This “thing”, that I had now identified as a bat flew back and forth, twice, within inches of my face.  As soon as it flew back into the laundry room for the second time, I ran out in the opposite direction, of course.  Yes, I was running as though I feared for my life, leaving my laundry in the dust.  I called maintenance, though barely able to form a coherent sentence, and managed to tell them my address so they could send someone over.  When the maintenance man arrived, I told him the story.  He just laughed and said welcome to Erie, Pa.  Little did he know I was ready to go home to New York City, so he could keep his welcome.  I am a city girl and that is where I belong, not in this wild animal filled town!

            After telling this story over a dozen times, to friends and family alike, I realized that leaving was not the answer.  I made a commitment to NWLS and I was going to fulfill it.  With that in mind I went to work Monday morning.  I was back to the daily grind, sitting in on client intakes, doing legal research, etc.  During lunch I told the story again to my co-workers, only to find out that everyone here had a bat story or two.  It appeared as though this is a way of life up here.

            The next couple of days went rather smoothly, as I tried to stick it out here.  I was still wondering, however, why would people choose to live up here?  Then I realized it’s not always your surroundings that make life pleasant.  Often times, it is the work you do.  The feeling you get when you have saved someone’s house from foreclosure.  The feeling you get when your efforts have rectified a situation that looked bleak, but benefited a single mother with children. 

            So, what keeps these attorneys and paralegals here?  Shear dedication and determination to help a population that is consistently without help.  To give a voice to those who are often silenced.  This program has taught me that Public Interest Law is one of the most important and fulfilling practices one could enter.  You don’t do this type of work for the money (although that is nice too).  You do it because you have a desire to make a difference in a community, whether that location is Erie, Harrisburg, or New York City.  That feeling of making a difference or helping someone who could not ordinarily afford your services, helps you to deal with those other issues, like Bats!

            My internship was a learning experience, to say the least.  Not only did I learn various aspects of the Pennsylvania legal system, but I also learned a lot about life and people and I am glad that I was given the opportunity to gain this valuable knowledge.