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Christopher Cosgrove "I feel as though law grants people the chance to have a direct impact on the world, and that is very important to me. Also, I recognize the importance of experiencing the study of environmental sciences from many different perspectives, from field work to policy making."
Chris Cosgrove pauses outside the headquarters of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, the Boston law firm where he interned in summer 2005. Chris Cosgrove's steps have quickened during his undergraduate years as a Henry David Thoreau Scholar at Duke University. Like a Boston Marathon runner breaking away from the starting line in his Hopkinton hometown, he heads toward his goal--environmental law. Sometimes his route has taken an unexpected turn, but he hasn't broken his stride. "When I first entered Duke, I saw myself as a science person with a strong interest in field activity. Then some courses and projects that came along made me realize that I was most enthused about policy writing." This year promises to be the most exciting of his life to date. During the summer, he interned at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, a world-famous law firm in Boston's financial district. Beforehand, he sought out promising internship opportunities and secured this one on his own. He spent the first weeks shadowing attorneys and legal secretaries, gaining a broad picture of the law firm. Then he focused on the environmental law department, the area that interested him most. Chris researched for high-profile cases and helped attorneys with correspondence. "I feel as though this opportunity will provide me with a solid base for making contacts in the legal world and becoming educated about the life of an attorney." On the lighter side, he adds: "It was great to be near Quincy Market at lunchtime." Less than a week after he completed his summer internship, he boarded a flight for South Africa. He will spend the 2005 fall semester at world-renowned Kruger National Park, under the auspices of the Duke-based Organization for Tropical Studies. The program will expose him to environmental law and policy in another country. His academic curriculum will consist of four courses, ranging from South African Ecosystems and Diversity to Conservation and Management of Protected Areas. "It will be an amazing experience from an environmental studies perspective and also a lesson in cultural enlightenment, tolerance, and personal growth," he says. At Duke, Chris' basic required physical sciences classes soon transitioned into more policy and economic courses pertaining to environmental sciences. "These appealed to me, so in my sophomore year I declared my major as Environmental Sciences and Policy." Later, he worked as a research assistant with Dr. Marie Lynn Miranda, one of his professors, at Duke's Children's Environmental Health Initiative. "I wrote several policy/analysis reports of topics ranging from elevated blood-lead levels to the dispersal of malaria worldwide. From this experience, I became even more interested in policy/law topics stemming from environmental sciences." Chris wants to enter the workplace before applying to law school. "One two-year program offered by the Environmental Protection Agency is an entry-level program for recent college graduates." He knows he must gain some job-related experience first, as the law schools he has in mind--Duke, Georgetown and New York University--"are highly selective and require hard work in order to receive an acceptance." |
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