Wonderful Wednesday

Two really cool things happened yesterday. First off, my journal made the front page of the Georgetown Law Weekly for our Relay for Life team! Click on the article to see a larger version (I'm the one kneeling with a baseball cap on):

Secondly, I was offered (and accepted) a spot on the Human Rights Institute/Georgetown Human Rights Action 2010-2011 fact-finding mission! In brief, it's a five credit, year-long course in which a team of students will research and produce a report on a human rights issue—next year's issue will be the repatriation of persons with mental disabilities. This is a huge opportunity for me, as it will be my first real foray into international human rights. And, we get to travel abroad to conduct interviews (it sounds like we'll be traveling to Mexico in January). Here's the full description:

This year-long experiential seminar is designed to support students participating in the Human Rights Institute/Georgetown Human Rights Action fact-finding project. These projects give students an opportunity to work as human rights investigators—researching a human rights problem in depth, conducting extensive interviews on the subject, drafting a comprehensive report on their findings, and engaging in related advocacy. Through this course, students will gain the substantive background and skills needed to carry out this work. Each year, Georgetown Human Rights Action and the Human Rights Institute identify a new topic on which to work. In 2010-2011, the selected topic is Safe Repatriation for Persons with Mental Disabilities. In the fall, the weekly seminar will cover relevant substantive law and policy on this subject, as well as fact-finding skills and methodology. In January 2011, we will travel as a group to conduct interviews on this subject. In the spring, students will draft a final report and engage in advocacy surrounding their findings; there will be seven 2-hour class sessions to guide students through these processes. Over the year, students will be expected to devote an additional 110 hours outside of class time to this project; all students must submit a record of this time. Grading for all credits will occur at the end of the spring semester. The letter grade will be based on individual memos and advocacy assignments, a joint pre-mission memo, co-teaching a class session, and a joint final report.

My heart is filled with joy about this opportunity. Thank you, Lord!