Hello again, Hounds! This week, we are featuring senior Sara Flayhan ’25, and her experience interning at the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office in Springfield, Massachusetts, under the leadership of District Attorney Anthony Gulluni for the past two summers! This office plays a pivotal role in prosecuting criminal matters throughout Hampden County. Sara worked with the dedicated team of Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) and support staff who work tirelessly to uphold justice. As an intern, Sara primarily focused on assisting the support staff with trial preparation, while also receiving occasional tasks directly from the attorneys. Read more to learn not only how this experience deepened Sara’s understanding of the legal process, but also solidified her aspiration to pursue a career in criminal law, specifically as a prosecutor.
Give a brief overview of the company that you interned with, as well as what your position
was.
For the past 2 summers, I have been a summer intern at the Hampden County District
Attorney’s office in Springfield, Massachusetts. The District Attorney, Anthony Gulluni, is
responsible for prosecuting all criminal matters in Hampden County. He has a large selection of
Assistant District Attorneys who prosecute both the district and superior court members. Within
the DA’s office, there are also support staff members that assist the attorneys with clerical tasks
needed for trial prep. My role as an intern was to work with the support staff to help with trial
prep, with occasional tasks given directly by the attorneys.
Describe a typical day as an intern. What were your day-to-day tasks and responsibilities?
The two most important tasks I would do as an intern were to complete discoveries and
motor vehicle cases. The term “discovery” is a common term used for evidence. As interns, we
prepare the evidence in disk or photo form for the ADA’s to use in court, and to give a copy to
the defense attorneys. Then, we had the motor vehicle cases. The support staff have to
manually enter the defendant’s name, charges, and court dates into the computer system. As
interns, we had the opportunity to enter in motor vehicle cases where there was no victim. I
was lucky to get the chance to learn how they enter a case when a victim is involved due to my
seniority. Depending on the day, interns could also go to arrangements and assist the support
staff member assisting the arraignment ADA’s with their file prep. If there was an interesting
trial happening (and there often is in Springfield), all of us interns would go together to observe.
Were you involved in any major projects or accomplishments as an intern?
I was fortunate to have a couple of niche experiences. A couple of the superior court
ADA’s during my time this past summer asked for help with printing off evidence. Both of these
cases were murders, so the photographs were very graphic. It was good exposure for me since I
do plan on going into criminal law, and hope to be a superior court ADA in the future. On the
less graphic side, interns were also able to shadow the Juvenile Diversion Specialist Diane
Cotrone at her diversion meetings. Juvenile diversion is for children under the age of 18 who
have a chance at redemption for the crime they committed. Normally, the kids don’t even know
they committed a crime. Diane Controne asks a series of questions to get background
information. In most of the cases I have observed, there’s an underlying reason, or it was an
honest mistake by the kid. This spiked my interest in working with Juveniles for me.
What are your career goals? How will this internship help you reach those goals?
My career goal is to be a criminal law prosecutor, either working at a special victims unit or
in domestic violence. I am passionate about working with female and child victims of violent
and sex crimes. It’s not at all glamorous like Law and Order makes it seem. I’ve seen and heard
some disturbing things that are hard to stomach. Some of my co-interns would say they can’t
see themselves doing criminal law because of the graphic nature. For me, it ignites a fire to fight
for victims. Seeing the reality of this career is important to me to learn before law school. I’ve
also learned some terminology and processes that will help me to know for law school. Some of
the support staff are part-time law school students and are more than willing to talk to interns
about their experiences as a law student.
What are your key takeaways from your experience? What skills did you gain from this
internship?
The main takeaway I have gotten from this internship is the importance of compassion
and kindness; especially with juveniles. What is a learning experience for me, is someone’s
reality. What is an intense trial that is fascinating to observe as an intern, is someone’s family
member who was brutally murdered. Being a prosecutor is not about “putting as many people
in jail as possible”, but genuinely trying to fight for victims. If you are working with juveniles, it’s
crucial to understand the minds you are working with. Kids can commit some awful crimes, and
they do go to jail if they are severe. For the kids in Juvenile Diversion, however, it’s more
important that I look at them with an empathy lens. Some of the kids have heartbreaking
stories that correlate to their actions. This has helped me practice empathy and compassion. If I
can look at juveniles with my “lens”, I can do that for anyone.
Why did you apply to this internship? What aspects of the position/company interested you?
I applied to this internship because I wanted to experience working in the legal field
before deciding on law school. It has been an interest to me since high school, but I wanted to
observe what being a lawyer is. I am fortunate to have a family friend who works as a
prosecutor in Springfield and advised me to apply once I am ready. My biggest fear was that I
was not going to enjoy the experience, but I left the internships two summers in a row feeling
more inspired to go to law school. As the DA has stated, Springfield is one of the most
fast-paced prosecution offices in Massachusetts. Being a prosecutor in Springfield is putting all
your effort into every case. The prosecutor under Gulluni is ethical, passionate, and kind
towards their victims. I plan on taking those qualities into the prosecution office I work in
someday, whether it’s in Springfield, Worcester, or anywhere else.
How has your Assumption career prepared you for this internship?
Assumption encourages students to aim for careers that will serve the common good,
not careers that fulfill selfish needs. I am recommended by people to go into the type of law
that “makes a lot of money”. However, I didn’t become interested in being a lawyer for the
money. In fact, I admire that both prosecutors and public defenders work under the principle
that their clients don’t need to pay them money. They get paid by the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. A young woman who has been the victim of a violent crime doesn’t need to
pay me a dime to fight for them in court.
What other experiential learning opportunities have you participated in?
I also had an Internship at the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office in the Spring
2024 semester. It was interesting to see the similarities and differences between the way the
two offices run. This semester, I am volunteering at African Community Education, also known
as ACE for an independent study I am doing with Professor Land. I take a lot of what I’ve learned
about juveniles into that experience.
What advice would you give to a student who wants to participate in an internship?
One of the advantages of doing any internship is the privilege of working with other
students. Being able to share experiences and ideas with students from different academic
institutions has been an important aspect. A majority of the other students I have worked with
are also applying to law school, and are studying for the LSAT like me. It’s comforting to know I
am definitely not the only one stressing over it. It’s also interesting to hear other experiences
from different schools. During my time in Worcester, I collaborated with a lot of students at Holy
Cross, that shared a lot of values Assumption Students have. There was even a student from
Umass Amherst and Umass Boston, whose academic experiences were different from us
Assumption and Holy Cross students. Though career learning is important, it’s also crucial to
network with potential future law school peers or co-workers.
Describe your volunteer experience at African Community Education. What did this
experience teach you, and did the skills you obtained from your internship(s) apply to this
volunteer position as well?
Volunteering as a tutor at African Community Education is different from working with
Juvenile delinquents, but I’ve been able to apply some of the skills I’ve learned. Professor Land
stressed the importance of having “soft eyes” around the kids, which entails trying to get a
better knowledge of why a situation is happening. I have realized that it’s how the juvenile
diversion specialist in Springfield does her job. The kids at ACE are refugees, however. It’s
important to understand that they are not immigrants who chose to immigrate here, but had to
flee their home countries for their safety. I have to be careful what I ask the kids, and how I
approach conflicts. When it comes to their socializing, I avoid asking questions about their
family in case they aren’t currently with them. Instead, I like to talk to them about their
interests when I am not tutoring. I was surprised when I found myself speaking Spanish
with the kids at ACE more than with people in my internships. Springfield has a large Latino
population, so I was excited when Diane said she might utilize my Spanish-speaking skills if we
ever need to wait for a translator for diversion or need help reaching a Spanish-speaking victim.
I never actually got to use my Spanish speaking skills there. However, at ACE, some of the refugees
from Haiti know Spanish, and find in helpful when I explain something in Spanish before I
explain it in English. This has taught me that you never know where an acquired skill will need
to be used.
If you are interested in being featured on Highlighting Hounds or know of any students who would be a strong candidate, please email us at careerdevelopment@assumption.edu!
