{"id":154290,"date":"2026-07-27T09:30:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290//?p=154290"},"modified":"2026-07-20T16:26:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T20:26:05","slug":"ucf-legal-studies-students-internship-with-local-judge-helped-shape-her-future-in-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290//ucf-legal-studies-students-internship-with-local-judge-helped-shape-her-future-in-law/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290//","title":{"rendered":"UCF Legal Studies Student/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/u2019s Internship with Local Judge Helped Shape Her Future in Law"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Madison Young always knew she wanted a career in law. What she didn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/u2019t know was where that path would lead./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/n

That became clearer during the Spring 2026 semester when the Department of Legal Studies student landed an internship with Judge Christopher Sprysenski, a family law judge and UCF adjunct instructor in the College of Community Innovation and Education. The courtroom became a classroom, where for more than 200 hours, she observed family law proceedings, watching the legal system work in real time before debriefing directly with the judge who decided the outcomes./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/n

This internship helped solidify that she/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/u2019s meant to be here./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/n

The opportunity began after Young took Sprysenski/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/u2019s Domestic Relations Law course. After learning about her career goals, volunteer work with the Legal Aid Society and growing interest in family law, he encouraged her to apply for the judicial internship program he facilitates./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/n

It proved to be the perfect match./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/n

By the end of the semester, Young had accepted a job offer as a legal assistant and set her sights firmly on law school./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/n

More Than a Front-Row Seat/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/n

What made the experience unique wasn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/u2019t just observing cases /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/u2014 it was understanding the reasoning behind them./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154290/n