Diversity Legal Internship: A Summer of Service and Growth (The Reasons I Chose Law)

This summer, rising 2L Riana Medford successfully completed an internship with the Legal team at the Center for New York City Neighborhoods. Riana reflects on her experience and the ways she contributed to advancing affordable and accessible homeownership.

This summer, I had the amazing opportunity to intern with the legal team at the Center for NYC Neighborhoods. As a rising second-year law student at Howard University School of Law, I was excited to apply what I’ve been learning in the classroom to real-world work and the experience exceeded my expectations.

From the very first day, I felt welcomed. The legal team — and honestly, everyone at the Center — were supportive, kind, and clearly passionate about the work they do. I saw how every department — Legal, Policy & Development, and Marketing & Communications — worked collaboratively with one shared goal: protecting affordable homeownership and supporting New Yorkers in need.Witnessing the many moving parts involved in this work was eye-opening, and I loved contributing to  cross-team projects focused on housing equity and community support.

Throughout the internship, I worked on a wide range of legal tasks: tracking housing-related bills, drafting internal legal memos and policy guidance for Center staff, and fine-tuning my legal research and writing skills. I also reviewed various contracts, including major funding agreements, to identify critical terms, obligations, and compliance requirements. The analysis informed the drafting of subgrantee terms,  and contributed to the team’s internal understanding of the Center’s legal responsibilities to external stakeholders. In addition, I reviewed operational policies and affiliate agreements, which strengthened my understanding of the Center’s relationships with its partners and the scope of legal advice provided across the organization. Each assignment expanded my knowledge of how I can use the law to protect communities and helped me build skills I’ll carry forward in my legal career.

One of the biggest takeaways from this experience was realizing the impact powerful legal work can be when it’s rooted in service and community. Whether it was dissecting and revising internal policy or communicating with external stakeholders, I saw how even behind-the-scenes legal work can make a meaningful difference. I also appreciated how open the attorneys were to mentoring me, answering my questions, and encouraging me to take ownership of projects.

Overall, my time at the Center reaffirmed why I chose to go to law school: to use the law to create real, positive change. I’m incredibly thankful to everyone at the Center for welcoming me, teaching me, and helping make this summer so meaningful. It’s an experience I’ll never forget.