Leader-Follower Relationships in a Small Team at VAHJI

After the first few weeks of my internship with The Virginia Holistic Justice Initiative, I am incredibly grateful for the environment and conditions I am working in, especially as this internship has been moved to being remote. With the uncertainty created by COVID-19, it was incredibly scary to undertake an internship in which I would never really physically be in the same space as my supervisor, team leaders, and fellow interns. It worried me that I would not enjoy the work as much as I would have hoped or that I would feel less involved and engaged with the position. However, I am so pleased with the team dynamic, largely fostered by my supervisor’s approach to the project this summer.

My internship team this summer is a group of about 12 interns from various schools in Virginia, including UR, VCU, UVA and Virginia Tech. The 12 of us are led by our two team leaders, Meredith and Becca, who are public defenders in Richmond. They are our first point of contact who we report to for issues, concerns, or questions regarding our projects. They assign us our goals and contacts for each week. Above them is Tom, a private defense attorney and co-founder of VAHJI, and our internship supervisor. Tom is our point of contact for all things administrative, but also incredibly helpful for assistance with our work as well as additional exposure to the criminal justice system. Our whole team meets weekly to discuss the work, address problems, and provide feedback from both our perspective as interns as well as their perspective as our leaders.

What I appreciate most about our team is that it is largely collaborative. We are viewed almost as equals to our leaders and supervisor. They provide us a lot of freedom in our work, enabling us to manage our own time with the expectation and trust that we will work hard and effectively. This dynamic, along with the constant affirmation for good work and constructive criticism for mistakes, is beneficial to me as it encourages me to work harder to for myself and the team, rather than for fear of admonishment.

What motivates me most is the level of respect from Tom. He is an experienced attorney, as well as the Executive Director and co-founder of our organization. VAHJI is his passion project, as he has a internal desire to help his clients get the support and assistance to help them live a happy life. Despite this, he also has a desire to help us with not only our project, but also to help us learn more about the criminal justice system and get experience in the fields we hope to pursue in our own futures. For me, as someone who hopes to be a criminal defense lawyer, I am thankful for the opportunities Tom has given us. This includes the opportunity to follow along in one of his cases, where he let us sit in on a client meeting, have access to case materials, legal databases, and the ability to go to court with him. He views us as coworkers, not just interns. This dynamic inspires me to work harder, and I am so thankful for it.