Woe is me...

Now that I have an EQ, I'm trying to narrow done on what to research, but I'm finding it hard. There isn't a lot of variety in my field. Don't get me wrong; there are a lof of articles and books on the topic, but not exactly what I am looking for. Most of what I find is just general knowledge I already know or things that a defendant might want to know. Another problem would be that most of the articles online are for private practice  which rarely coincides with what I am looking for. In those cases, the defense attorney usually makes it a priority to make sure that the client/defendant can pay. Thusly, it doesn't help me at all.
Books are difficult as well. As mentioned before, most of them are to broad and go over general information on what law is. I read a few memoirs of notable attorneys, but I did not find them beneficial in the least.

Stress

I know being a lawyer would be stressful, but I wasn't prepared for how much stress it actually came with. I was given a few files on a couple of court cases a client had; said client wanted to expunge his crimes to apply for a nursing job. My assignment was to write notes on what happened in every court appearing he had. Doing this, I was helping my mentor type out a guide for the judge because it would make it easier the judge to understand what has happened in the past. The benefit to this is that it would make the judge a little more willing to expunge the crimes since he didn't have to read through stacks of papers. The stressful part was that The format I showed to my mentor was never good enough; also, that whenever I thought I was done, I received more documents.

No wonder people hate desk jobs!

EQ

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2. a. What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

• No, this doesn't meet the criteria because it to to vague on what age group and other confounding factors that would help the reader know what to consider healthy weight loss.

    b. What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

• No, this doesn't meet the criteria because the wording of the question doesn't make enough emphasis on part of securing a conviction the reader should look at. The answer should look for multiple possibilities, but it is to vague.

    c. What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

• Yes, this meets the criteria because it is specific enough in who the hairstyle should satisfy, it is not a yes/no question, and allows you to take a stance.

    d. How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

• Yes, this meets the criteria because the way it is worded, it allows for there to be a list of possible answers.

3. What is the most important skill for a Public Defender to possess to successfully win a case?

Possible Answer

On October 22nd, I was helping out my mentor organize the office before I asked him a few more questions I had based from the assignments he gave me. As we talked, I explained what the first 10 minute presentation we had, he said that analytical skills were another skill that any lawyer should have. It is important because it helps the public defender find statements or facts that aren't consistant throughout the police report or any other documentation presented at court. He then proceeded to let me read the police reports on one of his recent cases. I was to take notes and talk about my thought process in how I would handle it. Both my mentor and I were proud of myself that I thought of the same things that my mentor has on how to handle the case!

So far, so good!

Research and Working EQ

1. What is the most important factor for a public defender to win a case?

2.

• Communication skills the result of the case is on how well the attorney can communicate with either a judge or jury in proving that their client is not guilty. Also, when sharing a case, miscommunication between coworkers makes things difficult for the public defenders and defendant.
• Experience is important because a new attorney can make some decisions they are not to confident in and make things worse for the client. Having experience also makes cases goes faster since they know what they are doing. 

3. The most important source I have had so far would be my mentor because in the second interview, he indirectly has given my ideas on what could possibly be the answer to my EQ.

4.My mentor is Ramiro Cisneros. I am working with him at his office located in Pomona under Los Angleles County Public Defender's Office. This helps me answer my EQ because I will be able to get a first hand experience in observing what skills they use in court and how they prepare before a case.

Independent Component 1 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

• Since I am barely starting to work with Mr. Cisnero, I will be filing some of the cases, organizing his office, and shadowing him around the building. If I am able, I would be allowed to be in some of the court proceedings. As time passes and I am working with him longer, I will gain more responsibilities. 

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

• To show evidence of 30 hours of work, I will provide pictures (provided my mentor approves of some of them be allowed to be posted).

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

• Working under Mr. Cisnero will help me explore my topic more in depth because it will show me the busy and intense life style lawyers have. It will allow me to understand the pressures and expectations that public defenders face when in court. 

Topic Switch!

Can you believe it? Neither can I! I have changed my Senior Project topic from Accounting to Public Defender.

Anyways, I chose to change my topic for a few reasons: 

1. My original mentor was not able to help me over the school year, so it was in my best interest to switch mentors.
2. This leads to the next unfortunate event, that all other Accounting mentors I had in mind are all too far or also too busy to help me.
3. A family friend of mine was able to use her connections and find me a mentor at the Pomona court building, Ramiro Cisnero. 
4. Since Mr. Cisnero is not an accountant, I changed my senior topic to Public Defender. 

I do not mind changing my topic because I enjoy watching a lot of Law & Order, enhancing my interest in the topic of what being an attorney is like. Another reason is that even before the mock court case in Mrs. Edwards' class, I have reveled in arguing with others, and winning said arguments. I predict that this topic will be compelling to both research and present on. 

Second Interview Questions (Revised)

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?

• My mentor is Ramiro Cisnero who works at the Pomona court building.

2.  What five questions will ask them about their background?

• What experiences helped you prepare you for the work you have now?
• What qualities were your employers looking for when you applied to work there?
• What were some of the most significant courses you took in college?
• Was there anyone to help guide or mentor you through your own path to become a public defender, and what did they help you with?
• What would you say would be your greatest achievement?
• What made you want to become a public defender?

Blog 5: Project Reflection and Working EQ (Revised)

The Pentagon: 
(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?

• Something positive would be that I have a lot of new people that I generally would like to know more and that are willing to help me with my project.

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

• A piece of research, titled The Role of the Pubic Prosecutor in the Court, has helped me with the basic understanding of what public prosecutors do, besides what media and television series portray them as. It gives the different point of view of what I am studying. 

(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

• What has worked so far in my project is that I have a mentor that is willing to let me work and shadow under him.

(4) What hasn't worked so far?  

• The only thing that hasn't worked so far is finding a time where I am able to go into the office when my mentor is there at the same time. 

(5) Finding Value:  

•  What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)
• What is the most important factor for a public defender to win a case?
•  What do you plan to do for mentorship?  If you haven't found a mentor yet, then discuss where you are currently looking and who you are talking to to find it.  
• For my mentorship, I am doing to work under Ramiro Cisnero at the Pomona Court Building. As far as I know, I will be helping with filing and taking notes. I will be granted more responsibilities as time passes.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation (Revised)

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

• I plan on interviewing Ramiro Cisneros because he is my mentor.

2.  You have to ask 5 questions.  What additional questions do you plan to ask? 

• I am interested in studying something akin to public defending. What can you tell me about it, or in other words, how would you describe it to someone?
• Is there a difference with public defending and just defending?
• From your perspective, what else could I study that would benefit me in on my Senior Topic? 
• What do you find interesting or exciting about your job? 
• What are some stressful moments that come with the job? 
• How would you deal with unruly clients? 
• What do you do when you don't agree with the point of view of a client? 
• Who else would you recommend I talk to? 
• What books should I read in this field?
• My last question is, what other kinds of activities should I do for experience?

Second Interview Questions

1.  I Have yet to find a mentor since my summer one has just informed me that he would not be able to help me during the school year.  A new potential mentor would be my first interviewee, Don Halili, who owns his own business.

2.  If I did currently have a mentor, I would ask him or her: 

• What experiences helped you prepare you for the work you have now?
• What qualities were your employers looking for when you applied to work there?
• What were some of the most significant courses you took in college?
• Was there anyone to help guide or mentor you through your own path to become an accountant?
• What made you want to become an accountant?

Blog 5 Project Reflection and Working EQ

The Pentagon: 
(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?

• A positive result so far would be finding out more different types of accountancies that I would be interested in joining. 

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

• From my interview, it has helped me understand the busy schedule accountants may have and what work life may be in the future. For example, few weeks a year, some accountants have to work 18 hours a day to get all the work done before the deadline. 

(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

• What has worked so far in the senior project would be finally finding an accountant to interview, Don Halili.

(4) What hasn't worked so far?  

• What hasn't worked so far for me would be focusing more on what about accounting am I more interested in. Thus, I find it a little more difficult to find research through the internet. Searching for information in books would only we beneficial if I narrowed down my search.

(5) Finding Value:  

•  What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)

• What is the most important skill or factor to be considered a successful accountant?

•  What do you plan to do for mentorship?  If you haven't found a mentor yet, then discuss where you are currently looking and who you are talking to to find it.  

• I plan to ask a few accounting agencies if I could help work under an accountant (CPA). I have asked friends and relatives if they would know an accountant that would be willing to take me under their wing, but so far it hasn't been so good. 

Surprise, surprise!

It was a few days before the first Research Check was due, when I started looking for any articles I could find. I was actually surprised that I found more than I thought I would. The most surprising moment would be when I started reading said article. Halfway through the first article, I was shocked that there would be more than two types of accountants. I knew there would be one who dealt with showing figures to important parties outside the organization and another that shares facts within the organization to discuss what direction the organization should go. There are at least 4 other types of accountants, including governmental and forensic accounting. Forensic accounting interested me the most only because it deals with white-collar crimes. More specifically, it relates to an old show I used to watch with my family that enraptured me with fraud, embezzlement, and other illegal activities and the protagonist's attempt to solve them.

Blog 4: Interview Preperation

1. I plan to interview Don Halili because he is the accountant my parents meet up with. I plan on interviewing him because he would have a lot of experience in the field and it would help me start trying to talk to others professionally than relying on a relative. Interviewing him would connect me to other potential interview and a potential mentor.

2. Additional Questions: 

• What are some of the stressful moments that come with the job?
• How would someone handle an unruly client? 
• If a potential client was worried about fraud and other scams, how would you comfort and gain their trust? 

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

1.  List your topic here:   Accounting/Business
2.  What do you plan to do this year to show growth in each of the ESLRs?  Be specific and use an example.  Examples can come from senior project, model assembly, core, and/or participation in senior class ASB or other organizations on campus (clubs etc).

• iPoly Citizen  -  I wish to be more involved with the community, thus, I am currently part of the Muffin Committee. I will also do my best to attend classes on time and complete work sheets to the best of my ability. 
• Effective Learner  -  I will be more involved within the classroom environment, so I will do my best to show my creative side when I complete the 2-hour presentation at the end of the year.
• Effective User of Technology  -  I will ask my fellow classmates to help assist me and use credible research for both Model Assembly and my Senior Project.
• Effective Communicator  -  Through Model Assembly, I can learn how to be more professional and persuasive in presentations and promote harmony within groups. 

Summer Mentorship Component

Literal  
1. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0An1HF6zCA5s1dC0yTDlVbkQtM2VUQklaS295ZXV1WFE#gid=0

2. Personal Secret Spa        626) 939 - 4560

3.  ~ How do you know if it is worth it to hire an employee within a small business? 
    ~  How would we know if the mentor we are thinking of choosing is the best option?

Interpretive
4.  The most important thing I gained from this experience is organization. This is important because the person I mentored under ad a lot of missing  paperwork or random paperwork that she does not recall which file it belongs to. This is not a good thing because people are giving out sensitive information, and losing it, intentionally or not, can and will hurt the business and its reputation.

Applied
5. This helped me decide what I want to do as a topic because I want to choose something that can benefit me in the long run, such as business management. Thus, helping at a small business can help me decide during senior project if business management is something I wish to continue through college and my career.

2013 2-Hour Presentation Reflections

Literal:  

1.  (Know) What presentations did you see?  Name the topic and the person's first name.

I saw:

• Jorge - Electronic Dance Music
• Jessica - Making an Album
• Marilyn - OBGYN
• Dominic - All Star Cheerleading (safety) 
• Nicholas - Automative Repair
• Alyssa - Yoga
• Ariana - Machine Programming
• Emma - Yearbook
• Ricardo - Drifting
• Darlene - Cancer Survivors
• Daniel - Car Audio
• Cheryl - Veterinarian Oncology
• Alex - Running a Bike Shop
• Jeanette - Wedding Dress Design

2.  (Need to know) What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said.  

How many activities do we need to have? What would be "acceptable" as an activity? By when do we need to know our senior topic or whom our mentor is?

Interpretive:

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?

The most important thing that I saw are the 3 answers and making sure it connects to the EQ.

Applied:

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

I am considering doing something along the lines of accounting because it relates to the career I wish to do in my future. Another topic I would consider is doing it on books because I love to read. Lastly, I am considering doing my topic to be something with psychology because after Strand's class in freshman year, it has always been an interest.