By Chase Karacostas

Senior Hosanna Yemiru walked into Hope Cottage, a non-profit teenage pregnancy crisis center she found through Peer Internship Program for an interview. She wasn’t asked about her work ethic or her past experience, but simply if she felt passionate about the work the center does and the issues that they face there.

After spending four years in the Law Magnet, Yemiru decided to complete an internship to broaden her experience in fields connected to law.

“I wanted to do something that had to do with not just law, but administration as well as management,” Yemiru said.

Yemiru’s is interested in the field of humanitarian and international law which is how the PIP internship program matched her with Hope Cottage, a center that deals with family law involving mothers and their adoption rights.

“On the administration side I would work with the CEO of the adoption agency, and I would work with the social workers on how to do their day-to-day management stuff such as how to raise money, what exactly goes into the adoption process – which is a lot,” Yemiru said.

Yemiru said after getting hands-on experience, she realized that the humanitarian interests she wanted to pursue don’t necessarily fit well with becoming a lawyer.

“I realized I wanted to help people who don’t have a voice,” Yemiru said. “[I want to] make sure that nobody is abusing the power that they have, and I think that journalism can help me do that.”

Law Magnet teacher Ben Fiedler said he felt that Yemiru’s time in Mock Trial would help her with future internships or even future careers.

“I firmly believe that no matter what the person chooses, they will better be able to serve their career interests by having a good thorough knowledge of our legal system – of our constitution of which I think that every citizen should have a good working knowledge,” Fiedler said.

During her one-semester internship, Yemiru visited most of the other non-profits near Hope Cottage, including the Human Rights Initiative (HRI), a group that focuses on helping refugees that have suffered from human rights violations in other countries.

“The HRI has a legal side to it where the people that they hire are mostly pro bono lawyers, and I did translations for them because they have documents that come in different languages, and I read and write Amharic,” Yemiru said.

Fiedler said he hopes that Yemiru’s time in her internships, and the Law Magnet, has helped her develop skills in the areas of critical thinking, analysis and persistence that she can take into any field she chooses.

“I think that’s one powerful impact that the Law Magnet can have while a student is here,” Yemiru said. “They do get a good look at a lot of different aspects of public service, in government, in public administration and in law specifically, or again just applying what has been learned in those areas to another career field.”

Ultimately, Yemiru hopes to pursue a career in helping the citizens of Ethiopia find a voice

“I want to go back home because there is a lot of issue with free speech in Ethiopia along with free elections because it’s not a very democratic place,” Yemiru said.

Sophomore Izra Hamid-al, who has worked with Yemiru for two years, said that a career in the field of human rights would fit her personality well.

“I think she’ll be really good at it because she understands the difficulties some people face – she’s very empathetic,” Hamid-al said. “She’d be very good at connecting with people and helping them.”