University Honors student Michelle Wang ’27 recently completed a spring internship with the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section through the UMD Federal Fellows program. The Federal Fellows experience included a fall seminar focused on energy and environmental policy, followed by the internship, which lasted about 15 weeks.
In the DOJ role, Wang worked with a team of attorneys handling cases involving federal environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Her tasks included legal research using databases like Westlaw and Lexis, reviewing memos and legal motions, and assembling data and maps to support the attorneys’ work. She also used specialized case management software and attended a House subcommittee hearing as part of her professional development.
Wang applied to the Federal Fellows program during her freshman year and joined after hearing about it through the campus’s public policy fraternity, Kappa Omega Alpha. This experience also completed a Theory & Practice Track for her University Honors citation. She says the UMD Fellows program’s practical focus and career support made the application process manageable, even when timelines were tight. She appreciated the feedback on her resume and cover letter, as well as the interview preparation the program offered.
“Michelle was an exceptional and exemplary fellow in the program,” said UMD Fellows director Jay Arasan. “She is a highly motivated individual who is very driven to constantly learn, and she also cares about the well-being of her fellow students.”
During the internship, her daily commute from campus to the DOJ office was long, but she found the experience valuable. She was given substantive assignments and got to interact regularly with attorneys and other staff. Wang also noted that being one of only three interns in her section meant she had more opportunities for hands-on work.
Wang is double-majoring in Environmental Science and Policy and Social Data Science. She credits a prior class, Introduction to Environmental Law, with giving her useful background for the DOJ internship, especially in writing case briefs. After graduation, she plans to work as a paralegal and then attend law school, aiming to work at the intersection of environmental issues and data. She highly recommends the Federal Fellows program to other students interested in combining academics with federal work experience, and she is happy to speak with anyone interested in the process!
The Honors College’s University Honors program aligns passion with purpose by fostering relationships intentionally, navigating complexity with humility, and engaging unfamiliar ideas and interrogating familiar ones. To learn more about the University Honors program, visit universityhonors.umd.edu.
The University of Maryland Fellows Program is a year-long program designed to equip University of Maryland undergraduate students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and experience necessary to become leaders in the public service sector. To learn more about the Fellows program, visit fellowsprogram.umd.edu/fellows.
