04.04.2018
Treehouse Youth Shadows Attorney for a Day
“Lawyers are fighting for what other people need, and that is something I want to do,” said Lexie, a Treehouse Graduation Success student. “I want to help people and give them that feeling that everything is going to be OK.”
Lexie, 16, still has a long road ahead of her before she’ll be practicing law. Thanks to Zachary Dillon, a domestic violence attorney, she got to see firsthand what the future might hold.
Through Treehouse’s Little Wishes program, youth are matched with local professionals to learn more about their fields of interest. Lexie’s education specialist, Danielle Downs, set up a day for her to shadow Zachary around the courtroom.
“Treehouse made it remarkably easy,” Zachary said.
Before the job shadow, Lexie and Danielle went shopping for professional clothing and shoes. Not wanting to come unprepared, Lexie drafted questions in advance.
“The only part of the process that delayed my actual work was that I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Lexie and answering her questions, which made it very easy to procrastinate,” Zachary said. “It was fantastic. She was incredibly polite with the other lawyers and judges as I introduced her around the courtroom.”
One judge talked to Lexie about why she wanted to go into law and asked about her schoolwork. Before leaving, the judge handed her his business card and offered to write a college recommendation letter whenever she is ready.
A Harry Potter fan, Lexie said the word “chambers” makes her think of Harry Potter.
“I thought ‘going into the chambers’ would be creepy, but it was actually really cool,” she said.
Sitting down with Zachary and learning about his position and all the steps it took for him to get there has been a huge motivator for Lexie. With a better idea of the road ahead, she is working hard on getting her grades up and researching colleges.
“It was a great experience that really opened up my eyes to how many types of law there are,” Lexie said. “I originally wanted to go into family law, but now, I think criminal law is more for me.”
Want to learn more about how you can volunteer for Treehouse? Contact Megan Meyer at [email protected] or 206-267-5117.
Subscribe to Our Blog
About the Author
Jesse Colman is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator at Treehouse. He is passionate about building relationships, storytelling and community development.