Queens Court delegation shares insights at high school career day

Justice Ira Margulis; Court Attorney Rosemary Chao; secretary to the judge Kris Corda; Queens Assistant District Attorneys Jessica Melton,Tara DiGregorio and Matthew Yi; Detective Robert Gonzalez and Deputy Chief Daniel O’Brien from the Queens DA’s office; defense attorneys Kevin O’Donnell and Jefrey Cohen; Legal Aid Society attorney Bryan Coakley and social worker Cheyenne Rosenbaum; court reporters Charles Edmond and Angela Moody; and court officers Sgt. Michael Pacura, Officer Lauren Rang and Officer Scott Hall. Eagle photo by Rachel Vick.

By Rachel Vick

Judges, court staff and lawyers from the Queens court system swapped a morning in court for  Queens Technical High School’s annual career day in Long Island City on Friday.

The 16-person group split up to visit a total of 22 classrooms, engaging students in conversations around the different facets and opportunities of court life, as well as offering general career advice.  

Justice Ira Margulis brought a court reporter and officer for his presentation to highlight how the staff works together to keep the court running. He explained how the efforts of stenographers are crucial to the case and the understanding of everyone in the courtroom. Court reporter Charles Edmond provided a stenotype demonstration.

Many of the speakers tried to communicate the reality of court work, based on real life occurrences and not what students see in TV shows. Detective Robert Gonzalez said that opportunities to interact with young people are important to dismantle stereotypes. 

“I get to tell them that there’s more to [being a cop] than what’s shown,” Gonzalez said. “Officers don’t get up in the morning thinking they’ll shoot someone  — you hope you go your whole career without having that happen. I think I had a few future detectives in the room.”

Although the different professionals took distinct approaches and discussed different topics, the overarching advice was the same — apply yourself, make smart choices and find a way to do something you enjoy. 

“I’d rather be happy and poor than have money and hate my life,” said attorney Kevin O’Donnell. “I never in my life thought I'd go out and represent people who are accused of committing crimes, but it's one of the most rewarding things I've done.”

O'Donnell took the scared straight route and told students that they have the power to control their lives. Certain choices, he said, can set people on a track they might not be able to break free from. The bad decisions he got caught up in weren’t bad enough to change his life forever, but the guilt he felt when he had to call his mom from jail did, he said.

Queens Assistant District Attorney Matthew Yi, from the Office of Immigrant Affairs and Defense, encouraged students to pursue careers that make them happy. Yi has been a prosecutor for 13 years and has yet to finish paying off his law school debt, but said that it’s worth it.

“In 13 years, I have never had what working people call the ‘Sunday blues,’” Yi said. “It takes an incredible amount of stress to do my job, [but] If you find what you love you’re not gonna work a day in your life. I knew when I took this job that I'd be trading financial security for me liking my job.”

Career Day organizer Jeanine Verderosa got involved with planning the event after seeing how students reacted to last year’s session. She said that the personal experiences and face-to-face interactions keep students interested. 

Teacher and organizer Eric MacDonald said that giving students access to court workings is a positive experience. Macdonald leads a field trip where students sit in on Margulis’ court proceedings, and the experience is rarely what students expect, he said.

“They’re always surprised at how many careers there are besides judges and lawyers, but they get to see how everything works together,” Macdonald said. “I think it helps them be more comfortable with the court system.”