Internships can change the course of your studies and career. Just ask Melissa Wakefield ‘22 who completed her internship at the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society (CVLAS). Wakefield was the 2020 recipient of the Richard I. Damalouji Award.

Wakefield is a political science and economics double major with a minor in English. On campus, she also works with RMC’s Higgins Academic Center as a political science, economics and college strategies tutor, and peer academic coach. Wakefield serves as a wellness advisor through the Counseling Services office.

During her recent internship worked closely with CVLAS’ Pro Bono Triage Project Director with the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation.

“At CVLAS, I worked with clients and shadowed and assisted attorneys with cases,“ says Wakefield. “I had experiences I could not get anywhere else. It’s easy to imagine what a legal career might be based on watching TV shows about law, but the reality is significantly different and much more rewarding than you can ever imagine.”

The RMC EDGE 

Wakefield credits RMC’s EDGE career services staff with connecting her to this opportunity. “They were there to help me every step of the way.” 

RMC’s EDGE makes students’ futures a priority from their first day on campus and focuses on helping them apply their liberal arts education and integrating critical thinking and transferable skills with every student experience. This nationally ranked career services program provides full access to self-assessment, career exploration and personal and professional development tools that enable every student to apply their education with purpose, awareness and confidence. With help from extraordinary faculty and staff, students acquire a competitive advantage in reaching their career or graduate school goals.

The Richard I. Damalouji Award

In 2014, the Richard I. Damalouji Award was established in honor of Rick Damalouji ’83, who devoted his life to serving those in need. His passion for social justice and helping others led Damalouji to pursue a career in the legal field. Damalouji, who passed away in 2014, spent 23 years practicing law in Vermont. His service and dedication to others led his family to establish an internship fund in his name to encourage and support RMC students to follow his example.

“My family wanted to honor my brother Rick and how he approached his legal career,” said his brother Dave Damalouji. “He was an extraordinarily compassionate guy and used his talents to help people for whom seeking legal help was too complex, too expensive or too daunting.

Each year, RMC’s EDGE Center for Career Development identifies an internship site with either a nonprofit organization or law firm with a focus on legal aid, helping the poor, seeking equality for humanity and a commitment to community service, and helps coordinate the recruitment process.

“Ms. Wakefield is certainly a stellar member of the RMC community and, by my gauge, a most deserving recipient of my brother’s fund,” says Dave. “In fact, all recipients of this fund have been outstanding men and women. Each has shown that ‘helper’ quality and empathy that were my brother’s hallmark. I believe Rick would have happily called them colleagues.”

Future Goals

A vital part of the RMC experience is experiential learning. Internships offer a real-world setting for connecting academic learning with the workplace. Wakefield credits this internship as being pivotal in her decision to pursue a career in law. “I credit t this first-hand experience with changing the course of my life,” says Wakefield. “Once I graduate, I hope to attend law school and eventually work in legal aid so I can further help those who need it the most.”