"I think I’ve always known I wanted to be an attorney,” Lewis-Clark State College justice studies student Adriana Enriquez-Gonzalez said. “I just enjoy helping people and I think it’s really cool that I have the knowledge to be able to help another individual.”
Enriquez-Gonzalez, who is from Sun Valley, Idaho, said she doesn’t recall one instance that sparked her passion for law but rather that the feeling has always been there and has never gone away. LC State has taken that passion and fueled it with coursework, clubs, and now an internship. The junior is on pace to graduate with a bachelor's in justice studies (law and legal systems emphasis), an associate degree in paralegal, and a minor in Spanish, and feels this foundation will serve her well.
It was the ability to gain a better degree at a better price that initially drew Enriquez-Gonzalez to LC State. She said this is despite her having to leave Sun Valley.
“LC State is really far from home for me,” she said. “But I thought I was going to get the best possible degree here and the price was the best option.”
The college has been able to follow through with its commitment to a better degree at a better price, according to Enriquez-Gonzalez.
“My classes and my professors have been a great resource for me to enter the legal world,” she said. “I enjoy what I learn, so it's easy to get through the material.”
It wasn’t long before the junior was ready to take her knowledge beyond the classroom. During the 2022-2023 school year, Enriquez-Gonzalez joined the Justice Studies Club where she further dives into what she’s learning in the classroom.
Just one year after joining the club, she went on a trip to Washington D.C. with it. She said the club was fully in charge of planning the trip and finding funding. It applied for grants, while professors worked with senate staff to set up tours of the Capitol, and the Supreme Court. Leading the tours were interns working under Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo. The tours quickly led to a pivotal change in Enriquez-Gonzalez's future.
“After the D.C. trip, I became interested in interning because I saw that the interns in D.C. got to tour the Capitol,” said Enriquez-Gonzalez. “I ended up at Sen. Mike Crapo’s office this summer here in Lewiston.”
She said the internship has been an incredible opportunity for her to better understand the role of government and be able to spend time researching. Unique to working in a regional office, Enriquez-Gonzalez said she gets to spend more time with constituents.
“I've traveled this area and I've gotten to meet a lot of people in agriculture, businesses, and education,” she said. “It's been a great opportunity to network with other individuals and really understand the inner workings of our government.”
Tying back to her education and future as an attorney, she said, “The internship has definitely broadened my education perspectives; understanding policy areas specifically further has been really eye opening.”
Working tirelessly to build a better future for herself, Enriquez-Gonzalez hopes to attend law school upon graduating from LC State and continue working towards her dream of becoming an attorney. She knows that her education from LC State is the means to make this dream a reality.