Hello everyone! My name is Morgan Edwards and I am LMM’s Advocacy Intern for the summer of 2022. I am from Worthington, Ohio (near Columbus) but I have family in the Cleveland area and have always loved visiting the city and appreciated it for its diversity and historical charm.
I am a rising sophomore at John Carroll University and I am pursuing a major in Political Science with a concentration in Legal Studies and a minor in Spanish. I am also a part of JCU’s 3+3 program with Case Western Reserve University, meaning that I plan to finish undergrad at JCU in 3 years and go on to Case’s School of Law where I will receive my JD after 3 years.
On campus, I am a member of the cross country and track teams, as well as part of the Honors Program, Pre-Law Society, and Ohio Innocence Project. In the Fall I will be starting as a liaison for the Center for Service and Social Action (CSSA) where I will be driving other students to service placements throughout the semester.
One thing I love about John Carroll is its dedication to service in the community, and during the fall of my freshman year I signed up for one of CSSA’s ten-week service placements as an English tutor for the Options Program of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district, an alternative program for students at risk of not graduating.
I will always remember when I worked with a young girl to answer some comprehension questions about a book she was reading, and how after a little bit of warming up, she began to light up about her predictions and explaining to me the different characters and their role in the story. We talked through the questions for the remainder of the time and she was able to turn in the assignment and was very proud of it. When it was time for me to leave, the teacher told me that it was the most talkative she had seen the student. I felt like what I had done, despite how small it seemed, mattered and made an impact.
I have always prioritized volunteering and doing service, as I believe it is an essential part of learning about and giving back to the community. Similarly, in choosing to go into law, I hope to be able to make a difference and stand up for those whom the law often disregards. During the spring semester as a part of my Legal Studies curriculum, I took a class called ‘Criminal Justice Systems’. In the class, we learned about the many disparities in the American criminal justice system and had class discussions, read books, listened to podcasts, and watched documentaries highlighting some of the systemic issues that perpetuate a cycle that is easy to fall into and hard to get out of. One of the podcasts focused on the criminal justice system in Cleveland, and I experienced many emotions while listening to it, and found myself wanting to dig deeper. When I applied for CSSA’s Summer In The City Internship, I didn’t know where I would be placed, but I kept this class in mind as something I would like to learn more about and be a part of the change I would like to see. Being placed at LMM is going to allow me to work towards these goals by fully immersing myself in advocacy- a crucial piece in bringing about awareness and promoting justice for all. I am very excited to embrace LMM’s mission this summer: advocating on behalf of those who are hurting to be empowered, valued, and healed, and engaging in work that is transformative and necessary.
I look forward to the rest of the summer at LMM, and taking advantage of the many opportunities that will challenge me and make me a better researcher, communicator, and person. In the next few weeks, I will be narrowing down a focus for a research project that will encapsulate my time here and serve as a resource for LMM.
I am beyond grateful for this opportunity and look forward to continuing to grow with this organization.
– Morgan
