Concluding Remarks on Internship at Laffineur Law Firm

My internship experience at Laffineur law firm has been a rewarding and life changing experience. Initially, I was unsure of whether law was the proper career path for me. As a senior at Western Kentucky University, who will be graduating at the end of this year, I was not quite yet decided what I intended to do after graduation came. This internship, to me, represented a make or break decision. I was either going to thoroughly enjoy the experience, therefore solidifying my decision to pursue law school, or this opportunity was going to be an eye opening experience that would make me realize that law school was not the career path planned for me. Fortunately, the incredible experience at Laffineur law firm has proven to me that law is a perfect fit for my interests, career path, and overall life goals. Without this opportunity, I would not have had the chance to test the waters and experience time working in a law firm before actually entering law school. Through this internship, I have decisively come to important conclusions in the end solidifying and reassuring my decision to enter law school. If this program were required for all students, giving them a chance to experience time working in their potential career field, I feel students, like myself, would have more confidence and assurance when pursuing post-graduate education or employment after graduation.   


The major tasks that I was employed with while at Laffineur law firm included, firstly, providing the staff with daily press monitoring. This encompassed the searching for and summarization of press articles that were, most importantly, relevant to Laffineur law firm. Next, another of my daily tasks included editing English-language documents. Because the lawyers at Laffineur law firm do not speak English as their first language, they would provide me with the task of reviewing and then editing their work. In addition, on occasion, I was given the task of summarizing law cases. I would be sent a law case, read and synthesise the material, and then produce a summary. Thirdly, I was assigned the task of developing a presentation for Mr. Jean-Luc Laffineur in order to prepare him for the speech he gave at the International Wine Law Association in Brussels.

This internship has helped me when I needed it most, at the most opportune time, in helping me to decide on my post-graduation plans. What is also worth mentioning is not only the effect this internship has had on me, but those around me. I have already had students and friends from my home university of Western Kentucky University, reach out to me wanting to know more about the internship program at Vesalius College and the work that I am doing at Laffineur law firm. It is extremely pleasing and rewarding to know that this experience has had an effect on not only me, but those around me and back at home in Bowling Green, Kentucky.




 

Leaving Brussels

As my trip is coming to an end, I look back at all of the great things that I was able to do. I learned a lot of things in my class, I had a good internship and I had the best homestay family to live with. I will definitely miss Brussels; I had gotten so used to navigating through the public transportation system and getting around the city. I know the knowledge that I gained and the work experience would not have been possible without this trip and I am very grateful to have been able to take part in it. I got a lot of great experiences and some amazing friends that made everything worth it. I wished that the trip could have been longer but I am also ready to go home and see my family. I already miss Brussels and my great homestay family; I feel like I have made some life-long connections with many people and it makes me sad to have to leave them.

Detour to Budapest

Last weekend, the group of study abroad students traveled to Budapest, Hungary, which hot climate was a stark contrast to that of Brussels! It was a very nice city, with notably fewer tourists than bigger cities such as Paris. And the most convenient part, was that most people spoke English; when I was riding the metro to cross under the Danube River, I turned to a lady sitting next to me to ask for directions. "Do you speak English?" I asked. She responded, "Of course!!"  

There are four levels of the metro system; they    
run very deep underground because they travel
under the Danube River.

While there, I explored the Buda Castle area on the West side of the Danube River, and found many shops and nice restaurants. The highlight of the trip was when I went inside the courtyard of the Royal Castle, which is where Katy Perry shot her music video to the song 'Firework.' It was amazing to say the least.  

This is a mural in the House of Terror, 

dedicated to the victims of the reign 

of terror.

Later in the afternoon, we visited the House of Terror Museum. This museum is a memorial to those who perished during the Nazi and Communist regimes. Hungary has a long history of fascist movements, as in WWII, Hungary aligned with Nazi Germany with the motive of gaining sovereignty from Austria; In the basement of the House of Terror, enemies of the Nazi Party were tortured and killed. After the fall of Nazism, the Communist regime came to power and continued much of the same practices. 

At night, the city really comes alive as the Szechenyi Chain Bridge and the Buda Castle are well lit against the night sky-

Visited the Islamic Cultural Center of Belgium with our class on June, 26, and had the pleasure of meeting Imam Nordin Taouil of Antwerp, Belgium.  He described the structural and religious features of the mosque, the five pillars of Islam and even recited a verse from the Holy Quran.  A clip of his recitation can be found in an earlier post by Julian.  Here is a group picture.

Internship Coming to an End

So far, I feel like I’ve gained a lot of useful skills from my internship. I will be finishing my last week very soon and I have enjoyed working at the Gresham Belson Hotel for the past 5 weeks and it has taught me some helpful lessons in business and also some things I didn’t expect. I have gotten the chance to work with computers the majority of the time and this has helped me both with my analytical skills as well as my research skills. I have been working on the sales department’s database while at the hotel and my main task has been to acquire various types of information from past customers to create a library of names and companies that other employees can refer to. Through my work I have learned how to dial a phone very well and navigate through websites where English is not available for reading. Those were 2 things that I hadn't really thought about when I first got to my internship but I had to learn as I went through my tasks each day. Of course this work has come with frustrations from my lack of skills in other languages but I have been able to make my abilities fit my tasks where necessary. It has been a huge learning experience for me and I have enjoyed working with my coworkers at the hotel. I wish that I could stay longer to go to all of the different departments; the time here went by very fast and I will definitely miss it.

Islamic and Cultural Center of Belgium

Last Friday, we paid a visit to the Islamic and Cultural Center of Belgium where we met with a visiting Imam from Antwerp, Nordin Taouil. He went over some of the basic tenets of Islam and what it means to be a Muslim. He even recited a few verses of the Quran for us. Although he didn't speak much about politics, meeting him was particularly interesting because his political views are considered fairly controversial in the Netherlands, one of his most frequently discussed positions was his support of a boycott on schools in reaction to a headscarf ban in 2009.  

Nordin Taouil

Ismail, the coolest cab driver ever

When Julian and I were walking home one night, we caught a cab back to our apartment and the cab driver's name was Ismail.  He was a Moroccan and we asked him about being a Muslim living in Belgium.  He seemed to really enjoy living here, and said that his father got a work visa 20 years ago.  He and his mother were only just now able to join him, and he said that he has never felt unwelcome in Belgium or been treated differently, and he is excited about having more opportunities in Brussels than he ever would have had in Morocco.  He ended up giving us a reduced cab fare because I spoke with him in Arabic, and we got his cell number so we can use him as our cab driver in the future.