Effective January 2016, six Aggie Law students will participate in the school’s new Residency Externship Program in Washington, D.C.
Placements will be throughout the federal government. The program provides opportunities for students to focus on policymaking that impacts Texas and to practice the Aggie Core values of selfless service, leadership and excellence that are so much a part of a public policy lawyer’s career.
Specifically, students will be immersed in the role of the government lawyer as policymaker—including promulgation of law, rulemaking, regulation, enforcement and litigation.
Chief Counsel for U.S. Homeland Security on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Stephen R. Viña, will serve as adjunct professor for the program. Students will meet key policymakers and advocates from a variety of agencies and organizations, engage with other Aggies participating in Texas A&M’s Public Policy Internship Program, and learn about the significant issues faced every day by those engaged in public policy through guided coursework and discussion.
Students accepted into the inaugural class are:
- Zachery Brown (Fort Worth)
- Tom Connally (Blooming Grove, Texas)
- Mitchell A. Monthie (Fort Worth)
- Avery Ory (Georgetown, Texas)
- Kia Pichon (Houston, Texas)
- Joseph Vrechek (Grapevine, Texas)
“Given that one in eight lawyers in the U.S. practice in the public sector, this is a tremendous area for our students to explore,” said Lisa Rich, who is coordinating the law school's Residency Externship Program.
“Nowhere is the study of policymaking more exhilarating or educational than in our nation’s capital. The fact that Washington, D.C. has the highest concentration of Aggies outside Texas is a bonus.”
To learn more about the law school’s Residency Externship Program, including placement and/or housing assistance, please contact Professor Lisa Rich, larich@law.tamu.edu
Media Contact:
Rebecca C. Walden, Director of Marketing
Texas A&M University School of Law
1515 Commerce Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102