Brian Rowland
Major: Political Science – Legal Studies Option; Paralegal Certificate
Hometown: Ukiah, CA
Class: Junior
Program Position: Program Director, Housing Law Project, CLIC
How did you first get connected with Community Legal Information Center (CLIC)?
Initially, CLIC played a substantial role in my application to CSU, Chico, as it is an opportunity unique to this University. Then, during my summer orientation, a representative from CLIC gave a class talk, orating very passionately about their experience. When they described how I can help clients with their housing issues, I knew I wanted to intern for the Housing Law Project.
How would you describe your role with CLIC?
I was recently accepted as Co-Director of the Housing Law Project, so my role is in the process of a substantial shift. As an intern, the bulk of my time was dedicated to interviewing clients over the phone, performing research, and discussing potential options they may choose to explore with regards to some legal difficulty with their landlord or tenant.
As a Program Director, I will continue to maintain some amount of contact with clients, but will additionally share the responsibilities with my co-director of supervising multiple interns and managing the daily operations of the Housing Law Project.
What does working for CLIC do for you personally, professionally, or academically?
In the narrowest, most self-interested sense, I hope that my involvement with CLIC enhances my desirability to law school admissions committees. In a broader scope, however, working for CLIC provides immeasurable personal enrichment and development.
I was asked, during my recent Directorship interview, what I held to be my favorite aspect of my CLIC internship: I like that my work with CLIC is not about me. For eight hours every week, I am utterly engrossed in someone else’s life and their needs, and I find that to be immensely grounding. As college students, we become so narcissistically attuned to ourselves: MY classes, MY grades, MY projects, MY papers that it can become easy for us to forget that we all have a duty to those around us, many not fortunate enough to enjoy the privilege of the university experience. When I am able to help a client through my involvement with CLIC, I feel like it’s the most important thing I’ve done all week.
What do YOU hope to bring to the table in your role as a CLIC Program Director?
Prior to his departure, my predecessor left me with a slice of wisdom: “You get out of CLIC exactly what you put into it.” That has been said by myriad people about an innumerable array of different things, though that fact does not diminish the quality of the truth in the words.
I intend to put into my directorship everything of which I am capable; namely a pride of fastidiousness, passion for leadership, and fiercely relentless enthusiasm – all of the attributes I believe one should hone in order to develop academic and professional acumen.
What are your career plans and how does your job with the Associated Students better prepare you for that path?
I hope to practice public interest law one day. Working for CLIC affords me invaluable, real-world opportunities to learn to interview clients, spot issues, and conduct research. Additionally, if law school ever becomes so monumentally challenging that I begin to contemplate throwing in the towel, I will always be able to draw upon my experiences at CLIC to remind myself what I would be missing if I were to give up.