Elizabeth Vela

United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned at your job?

I have admired the Hon. Marina Garcia Marmolejo (M.A./J.D. ’96), for years and knew I wanted to intern for her during my time in law school. I didn’t see an intern position listing for her chambers on CORE, so I googled the contact information for her chambers. I tried my luck and sent my resume and a cover letter to her case manager. I was contacted within a couple days for an interview. I had an interview over the phone with her law clerks and an interview via Zoom with the hon. Garcia Marmolejo and was offered the position of summer intern.

What was the most surprising thing you learned at your job?

The Hon. Garcia Marmolejo does not advertise the position of summer intern on job listing websites like CORE. I was very surprised to learn I was one of only two people to send a resume to Judge’s chambers and the only intern Judge would host for the summer. This served as a reminder to me to not be afraid to go beyond CORE and create opportunities for myself.

What did you like most about your job?

I really enjoyed learning about all the work judges put into the cases before them. It was truly amazing to see the process of deciding a case and it gave me a great appreciation for the responsibility judges take on when sworn into office.