Learning Law, Building Connections
Zachary Roberts ’28 gains firsthand experience in law while connecting with Grinnell alumni and the local community.
For Zachary Roberts ’28, this summer has been about more than learning what lawyers do. It has been a chance to imagine what he might do after Grinnell.
A rising third-year student from Bemidji, Minnesota, Roberts is spending the summer as an intern at Mahaffey Law Firm, splitting his time between its Grinnell and Montezuma offices. A double major in political science and anthropology and a member of Grinnell’s swimming and diving team, he came to the internship with an interest in law but little experience with the day-to-day work of a law office.
“I think of the summer as sort of an exploratory period, Roberts says. I’m interested in law as a career after college but, until now, did not yet have actual experience working in a law office setting. I want to figure out if it's a work environment that I like and if it’s something that I’m truly interested in.”
The opportunity also grew out of Roberts’ connections beyond campus, offering him a chance to learn from local attorneys while becoming more connected to the community he has called home during college.
Seeing Law in Action
Roberts spends his days shadowing client meetings, drafting legal documents and reviewing civil litigation. He has accompanied attorneys to the courthouse and traveled to Des Moines to observe an oral argument at the Iowa Court of Appeals.
The experience has also brought his Grinnell coursework to life. After taking constitutional law with Professor Peter Hanson, Roberts has been struck by how often the cases and arguments he encountered in class reappear in his work at the firm.
“It’s been really interesting how much stuff I’ve sort of encountered in this internship that has to do with, specifically, constitutional law,” he says. “It’s been cool to read the cases and then see them applied in real life.”
The internship is teaching him lessons that extend beyond legal knowledge, too — including how to communicate effectively in a professional environment and collaborate on complex cases.
“I feel like I’ve learned a lot in terms of how to interact with coworkers and how to communicate with coworkers better in an office setting,” Roberts says.
Connections Across the Grinnell Community
Roberts found the internship through the local Grinnell community. His pastor’s family connected him with Patrick “P.J.” Mahaffey ’11, a Grinnell graduate and managing partner at the firm.
Mahaffey isn’t the only Grinnell connection at the firm. Attorney Robert Seer ’12 is also a Grinnell graduate and returned to the area to practice law. The two alumni have given Roberts another way to connect his college experience with the possibilities that await after graduation.
“It’s really been cool to talk to them about Grinnell College” Roberts says, noting that both attorneys were also student-athletes during their time on campus.
For Mahaffey, that shared history makes the experience meaningful. He says he regrets not taking advantage of internship opportunities while he was a Grinnell College student and sees value in helping current students gain that experience.
“I think being an alum gives the relationship a head start,” Mahaffey says. “From the first conversation, I understand his college experience without additional explanation and likely have connections to people he knows. We can speak ‘Grinnellian’ with each other.”
For Roberts, those connections offer something equally valuable: a glimpse of what a future after Grinnell might look like.
“I definitely think that, after the summer I feel a lot more confident in saying that it’s a career path that I would want to go into,” he says.
With support from Grinnell’s Center for Careers, Life, and Service, Roberts has been able to pursue the internship while continuing to work as a lifeguard on campus. The experience has given him a clearer sense of where his interests might lead — and a growing network of Grinnellians who can help him find the way.
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This internship is one of hundreds of experiential learning opportunities supported by Grinnell College this summer through more than $1.2 million in funding for internships and Mentored Advanced Projects (MAPs). Learn more about the College's investment in student learning.