b'Summer Associates Share Their ExperiencesWhile this summer was far from normal, we were thrilled to welcome an impressive class of summer associates to Mintz. Below, Mike Goldberg and Kadie Martin discuss what it was like to work as remote associates and what the summer meant to them, while Sofia Nuo Unanue provides a broader perspectivereflecting on the road she traveled to become a lawful permanent resident in the US, attend law school, and join the Mintz litigation team.I think that the most surprising thing about the summer program was how willing people were to speak with us. Maybe social distancing has made everyone starved for connectionor maybe the Mintz community is just super friendlybut it was easy and painless to network. Everyone, whether first-year associates or members, was so accessible. I learned about a ton of different practice areas and feel much more prepared to rejoin the firm next fall.Mike GoldbergAbove all else, I wanted to be a Mintz summer associate to work with the firms remarkable people. Even in these strange and stressful pandemic times, they did not disappoint. If anything, they exceeded my high expectations. Alec Zadek taught me what it means to be an agile and tenacious litigator by assigning me challenging and nuanced assignments and giving me constructive, specific feedback to improve my writing. My mentors, Nancy Adams and Mathilda McGee-Tubb, welcomed me warmly during my first week and provided encouragement, research, and mediation shadowing opportunities, and advice throughout the six weeks.Kadie Martin When I graduated high school, I was undocumented and felt naive for thinking I could someday go to college. After seven years of being undocumented, I received my green card and felt extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to receive an education in this country. The hardships I experienced in my journey motivated me to advocate for others and inspired me to go to law school. I worked full time to put myself through college. I saved $500 for an LSAT prep course, but I was not accepted the first time I applied to law school. However, my journey as an immigrant taught me to be resilient, embrace adversity, and never give up. I decided to do a Master of Legal Studies to get better, improve my English, and reapply to law school. Two years ago, New England Law Boston gave me an opportunity. Today, I am proud to announce that I accepted an offer to work at Mintz as an Associate in the Litigation section beginning in Fall 2021. I am humbled and We invite you to read this Daily Journal article to learn more about Lawyer for a Day.honored to join Mintz, one of the best law firms in the nation dedicated to providing legal excellence and with a deep commitment to social justice. I feel incredibly grateful and do not take this opportunity for granted. I will continue to work hard to represent my culture positively and create paths for other migrants.Sofia Nuo Unanue13'