That’s What Summers Are For
Much has been written on this blog already about Weil’s outstanding summer mentorship structure, terrific pro bono opportunities and the substantive work that summer associates are given almost immediately. I completely endorse and affirm all of those posts, but I wanted to write about what has been one of the more surprising and rewarding elements of Weil’s Summer Program – the summer associates themselves.
It is a popular stereotype that law students are cutthroat or ruthlessly ambitious, and I think that cliché can extend to the perception of summer associate programs as well. I was probably guilty of believing it myself, so I could not have been more pleasantly surprised when I started to get to know the rest of my summer class the first week of our program. Everyone was so… approachable! High-achieving and brilliant, yes, but also kind, funny and helpful. It was quickly apparent that Weil had done an incredible job of putting together a summer class that was wonderfully unique and diverse in its personalities and backgrounds, but with a shared ethos of collegiality. Because the whole class is hard working and bright, it constructively challenges everyone to do their best work, but every summer associate is also more than willing to introduce me to someone I have not met, assist me with an assignment, or just grab a bite to eat at the end of the day. This growing bond between our class has been really important to all of us because these are the people that we will likely be working with for years to come.
This past weekend a terrible storm rolled through Dallas and much of the city was without electricity for several days. Upon hearing that my apartment did not have power, multiple people from my class reached out to help and offered to let me stay with them. After thanking one summer over text for the offer, he simply responded, “That’s what summers are for.” While very possibly tongue-in-cheek, it was perfectly emblematic of the support (and humor) I have come to expect from my summer class. They make coming to work exciting and rewarding every single day!