News

Thurgood Marshall School of Law Sponsors 11 students to Texas Legislative Internship Program

January 2008

Eleven students from Thurgood Marshall School of Law were selected to participate in the Texas Legislative Internship Program (TLIP) during the spring semester.  This educational  program is sponsored by Senator Rodney Ellis and administered by TSUs Mickey Leland Center on World Hunger and Peace.  Since its inception in 1990, TLIP has provided opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students attending Texas colleges and universities to serve as interns in the Texas Legislature, in various state agencies, and in local government.  The program combines academic study and research with supervised practical training.  Students participating in the program receive a minimum of six and a maximum of fifteen academic credit hours for their participation in the program.   Senator Ellis serves as advisor to the interns and his office assists in coordinating on-site activities. 

The TMSL students participating in the program include:  Rick Barrera, Amy Brooks, Vincent Cali, Nikiah Hawkins, Albert Roberts, Saharie Reed, and Regina Turner, all serving as congressional interns in Washington, D.C.  Farrah Hernandez serves as an intern in the Mayors Office of Governmental Affairs & Policy Planning in Houston.  Mac-Arthur Pierre-Louis is an intern in the TLIPs Legislative Office in Austin, Texas.  Kris Krishna interns with the TLIPs Innocence  Project in New York, and Mary Panzu was selected as an intern in the Mickey Leland Congressional Office in Washington, D.C. 

Leonard Spearman, Jr., director of TMSLs government law center, is responsible for the facilitation of the TLIP program at the law school.  Working in conjunction with the TLIP office, Spearman is responsible for announcing the program, holding information and briefing sessions, and interviewing students for the program.