Everyday Job: Law Internship and the Entertainment World by Drew Emerson 3rd year JD/MBA at Howard University

This is a story about a job position as a paid intern that changed my entire life. First, my name is Drew Emerson, I am currently a JD/MBA student at Howard University School of law. Entertainment has always been my aspiration and my passion. My first day of law school started with me waking up from a couch that two upperclassmen agreed to let me sleep on until I could get the money to afford my own apartment. I then went through the rigors of 1L life like the rest of my peers. I believe that beginning was integral to my drive to ensure that my efforts Fast forwarding to my second semester, grades began to trickle in, and I did better than I expected. While most of my friends applied to big law firms, I chose to apply for a few firms while focusing more on entertainment law jobs. Legal jobs for entertainment, however, are few and far in-between. Enter Essence Communication. Essence is the number one media, technology, and commerce company dedicated to Black Women. Through the use of their world-famous magazine or stellar events, Essence continues to perpetuate the Black Woman’s story. Essence became a standalone entity in 2018, and in spring 2019, I realized that the opportunity to obtain a legal internship may be present. That very opportunity presented itself, and with good grades and the memory of snoring on a couch ever-present in my mind, I applied, was selected for a phone interview in April, and received the offer in May.

Little did I know, with accepting that offer, I became the first law school summer intern in the history of Essence. I would go on to help review and help draft around 800 agreements. Through my work ethic and enthusiasm for entertainment, I was selected as one of the interns that would work at Essence Festival, one of largest music festival in the country. I was able to see how a group of emails could culminate into an activation with hundreds of thousands of people and some of the greatest talent on the planet. The skills and lessons I learned at Essence have shaped my future ambitions and career dreams. First, it made me realize the simple fact that they are indeed attainable. It also showed me that it will take and exorbitant amount of diligence and hard work. Through my decision to choose one simple internship, I created a narrative for my resume that I am entrenched in entertainment. I learned the value of negotiating with a spirit of wanting both sides to win. I learned that even the smallest responses to an email can have critical and epic outcomes. I have learned far more than what one page allows, but most importantly, I learned to never forget how it all started, which was waking up on a couch eager to be in the entertainment industry by any means. That passion will always open doors for me.

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