Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Court internship sets student's career path

Photos and story by James Hill

by Susan HerefordMimi Petrov’s recent internship with Community Court through the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office has the PCC student fired up and her instructors proud. Petrov, a second-year criminal justice student at the Cascade Campus, spent the summer developing a booklet on the Community Court Project for Multnomah County.The Community Court Project takes an innovative approach, encouraging offenders to contribute in a positive way through community service projects. The court project also puts defendants in touch with social service agencies to address underlying behaviors leading to criminal activity. The court opened in March of 1998 and now handles approximately 6,000 cases a year, mostly non-violent misdemeanors. It is the second such court in the nation. Before her community court internship, Petrov volunteered at McLaren and at the Eastwind Center, both juvenile facilities. "I’d never worked in the court system with adults," said Petrov, 21, who has earned a 3.8 GPA at PCC. The internship found her in downtown Portland every Thursday observing community court proceedings at the Multnomah County justice center. "It’s an experience to see the different cases and classes and races of people. Hopefully, my booklet shows the community how people can change and community court can help them change their ways," she said.Robyn Gregory, coordinator of Community Court, believes interns like Petrov are learning about their field and contributing to their communities."Mimi’s booklet is already being used as a way to let people know how successful our program can be. I go and talk to lots of groups around the state and country, and it helps affirm the successes of people who come through the program." Petrov said the project was great training for her. "I learned to work independently and on a deadline. I was self-directed. I’d meet with Robyn to review my interview techniques and my progress," she said.The Portland Business Alliance helped sponsor the booklet’s production with technical assistance and printing. The court works with the Alliance to arrange work details on city streets, in neighborhoods and community agencies for the ordered service.Both PCC and PSU students serve as interns for the project. For Petrov, it is one more affirmation that she has chosen the right career path. During her internship, she conducted interviews, wrote success stories and transcribed participants’ reflections. She also interviewed the presiding judge, the advisory board members, individuals from the community who have taken an interest in the project, and the court coordinator. Petrov stumbled upon the Criminal Justice program at the college’s Cascade Campus and said she was hooked on a criminal justice career, "ever since I took that first class. I realized it’s what I want. I’m surrounded by really good professors at PCC … a sergeant with Oregon State Police, a retired FBI agent, a lawyer who used to be a public defender and a criminal investigator with the Portland Police."Petrov, who speaks Bulgarian, English and Spanish, emigrated to this country when she was 12 with her younger brother. She joined her mother and father who had moved to the United States six years earlier. Being reunited with her parents again was "an experience of all experiences," she said. "Aug. 20, 1996. We celebrated our coming to America with a large pepperoni pizza and two liters of Coca Cola Classic." Petrov laughed and said that each year the family celebrates their reunion the same way, pizza and Coke. She plans to complete her degree at PCC and then move on the Western Oregon University for a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. In the meantime, through internships, volunteer work and a part-time job as a security officer, Petrov is learning more and more about her chosen field.Gregory, of Community Court, agrees. "Hopefully, the internships are helping students. They are treated like professionals, so the expectation is that they will perform that way – acting in a professional manner, turning in a good product, showing up for meetings on time."