Where are you now? What are you doing, and what does your work involve?
As of 2025, I am working for the Department of Justice Antitrust Division as a paralegal. Most of what I do is supporting attorneys, such as writing memos, taking notes, organizing files, proofreading, and citations. I also help review mergers and acquisitions submitted to the division as under federal regulations.
How have you drawn on your experience in the Writing Center since graduating?
Obviously, the Writing Center has helped a lot with practical things like writing, proofreading, and citations. What you perhaps wouldn't expect is that the interpersonal component of the Writing Center—working with people on all sorts of papers and projects—has also been hugely beneficial. Whether brainstorming, diplomatically presenting suggestions, or just working with people you don't know well, my experience at the Writing Center has always been relevant.
How did you come to your current position? What have you done since graduating?
I am interested in law, so I applied to a lot of positions in the legal field. My current role as a paralegal was actually the first I applied to, as I had them in mind from the Haverford career fair. Since graduating, I've just been at the Antitrust Division.
What role does writing have in your daily life and work?
Honestly, my everyday involves mostly messaging to the team chat or taking notes. But just because it's not outward-facing doesn't mean it doesn't use writing skills. Even as I'm being boggled by new concepts in litigation and federal regulations, never before have I experienced such an emphasis on succinct and clear writing.
What’s something you’ve learned about writing that you’d like to share with Haverford writers?
It's okay to not enjoy the process of writing. But you're almost certainly going to have to write a lot more throughout the rest of your life. It's better to be able to write confidently than to flounder whenever you need to pull up a Word doc. You may find that you like it more than you thought!—sometimes we dislike things just because we don't understand them. Alternatively, just get good at writing so you can be more justified when you discuss how you dislike writing lmao.