Levin Center sends 4 legal interns to Capitol Hill

Former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (center) with Levin Center at Wayne Law interns, from left, Marisa Hamel, Shelbie Rose, Marilyn Yousif and Marie Bonnici.

Positions involved work with congressional staff from both parties

The Levin Center at Wayne State University Law School chose four law students to serve as legal interns in congressional committee offices in Washington, D.C. this summer.

Internships were awarded to:

Marie Bonnici of Riverview, Michigan, Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs (Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH)

Marisa Hamel of Cortland, New York, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Congressman Trey Gowdy, R-SC)

Shelbie Rose of Romulus, Michigan,  Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO)

Marilyn Yousif of Macomb, Michigan, Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sen. Tom Carper D-DE)

Each position involved work with congressional staff from both parties and a bipartisan approach to oversight. Students worked under the supervision of an experienced attorney who is engaged in conducting oversight on behalf of a congressional committee.

This is the third year for the 10-week internships which include a financial stipend to offset travel and living expenses for the interns. Interns are supported by Levin Center staff during their time in Washington.

Bonnici, a rising third-year student, has previously been a senior trust advisor at Plante Moran Trust. Prior to that, she worked at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn as a paralegal. She earned her bachelor’s from Madonna University.

Hamel is a rising third-year student and is on the board of the Free Legal Aid Clinic and Mock Trial team, and has completed internships with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. She earned her bachelor’s from Michigan State University.

“This was an important summer in congressional oversight,” said Hamel. “Participating in the DOJ/FBI hearings on James Comey and Peter Strzok was a unique experience that I may never get again.”

Rose is a rising-second year student and will be participating in Wayne Law Review and Moot Court this fall. She previously has been an intern with RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, and worked with the Michigan Democratic Party as a political fundraiser. Rose earned her bachelor’s from the University of Michigan.

Yousif, a rising third-year student, was a member of The Journal of Law in Society at Wayne Law and is vice president of the Moot Court Board for the 2018-19 academic year. She previously interned with U.S. District Court Judge Gershwin A. Drain and with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. This fall she will be a law clerk at Zausmer August and Caldwell PC. Yousif earned her bachelor’s from Michigan State University.

“As a legal intern for the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I had the opportunity to dive deeply into a variety of investigations involving the federal government and its agencies,” said Yousif. “I spent my summer attending briefings and drafted memos that sought to expose an agency’s noncompliance with its regulations. In this position, I was fortunate enough to grow as a legal advocate by intertwining legal work with policy implementation.”

Launched in March 2015, the Levin Center at Wayne Law educates future attorneys, business leaders, legislators and public servants on their role overseeing public and private institutions and using oversight as an instrument of change. The center is named in honor of former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, Michigan’s longest-serving U.S. senator, who retired at the beginning of 2015 after 36 years in the Senate. Levin serves as chair of the Levin Center and on the Law School’s faculty as distinguished legislator in residence.

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