Rudman Summer Fellow of the Week: Mariana Marquez-Farmer

Mariana Marquez-Farmer is working for the New Hampshire Insurance Department this summer.   A Rising 2L, she is president of the Hispanic & Latinx Student Association. 

On pursuing a fellowship opportunity at the New Hampshire Insurance Department: 

I didn't know exactly where I would fit in. And so when I interviewed with the New Hampshire Insurance Department, I was very clear and said, I have no idea what I'm doing. I know some aspects of insurance. Being disabled myself,  I understand the complexities of what I needed to do to get my medication covered and all these things. But I don't know enough to feel strongly about bringing forth litigation.  And so I said, I just want to know if I like it.  And if I don't, then next summer, I'll apply to another position, another hopefully midsize law firm or small law firm, where I can learn property or malpractice and things like that.

Part of this internship is that my supervisor will hand me a case and say, ‘Here it is, go for it.’ He takes pride in giving interns the opportunity to learn by doing, to apply what he’s taught us, and to step in with guidance where we might stumble,

On what’s been most intriguing about insurance law: 

I have been a big fan of investigating white collar crime.  And my supervisor has been awesome at showing me what that looks like.  That has really got me intrigued -- to see the intricacy of how a big company can essentially go through loopholes within the federal system, within the state system, to avoid statutory requirements when it comes to insurance practices. That has really been intriguing to me, which is one of the reasons why I think I would probably be okay with insurance, if I could do something like this. 

 On the benefits of the Rudman Summer Fellowship: 

I think especially as a 1 L student, not knowing what kind of career path they want to take, it's great. Because working in a state office is completely different than working in a nonprofit. It really just opens up your eyes as to what you could see yourself doing. Also, to be able to get some compensation and really learn and not feel stressed out trying to find another job has been really, really important to me, because I get to focus on the positives of what I like about this specific area of law and the things that I don't like about it, and not worry about anything else, and really put my all into it. 

The Rudman Center fellowships support students who work during the summer for government agencies or 501(c)3 non-profit organizations that perform public interest legal work.   For more on the Rudman Summer Fellowship program, visit here.