Meet Caitlyn, a graduate intern in the Port's Legal department with an interest in intellectual property
Originally from Norman, Oklahoma, Caitlyn graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in sociology. Ready for change, Caitlyn decided to move from Oklahoma to Seattle. She is currently finishing up her last year of law school at the University of Washington and is getting ready to take the bar exam. “I like how Seattle is so pretty, with the mountains and water,” Caitlyn said. ”I have lived in Oklahoma for my whole life, so I was ready for a change.”
After reading about the internship opportunity on the university database, Caitlyn decided to apply for the position. “I had never had the opportunity to do an in-house counsel position, so I was interested to see what that was like,” Caitlyn said. “This is definitely the best internship that I have had.”
Through her Port internship, Caitlyn has had plenty of opportunities to do legal research, including reading cases and statues, interpretation case law, and write memos. “A lot of the work is helping me improve the skills that I already have.” Caitlyn said “I want to work in litigation, trademark law, and intellectual property law."
When asked about the most exciting thing was she has been able to do as an intern, Caitlyn answered, “I just got an intellectual property project from one of my bosses, and it's a copyright question. So since that is my biggest area of interest, it's the one I am most excited about.”
Along with gaining new skills and improving on old ones, Caitlyn has been able to grow confidence with her position, something she can transfer to wherever her career takes her. “One of the biggest takeaways from this internship is the confidence in my ability to go into a new area and be competent. I feel like I have been successful, and the feedback is good, so it is a boost of confidence. I feel like being surrounded by really supportive people helps me feel confident about my skills.”
