Press Release  High School Students from Worcester Graduate from Supreme Judicial Court's Judicial Youth Corps Program

BOSTON, MA — Fifteen high school students from Worcester who participated in the Supreme Judicial Court's Judicial Youth Corps (JYC) program this summer today celebrated the completion of their intensive court internships with a mock trial and a graduation ceremony at the Worcester County Courthouse in Worcester.

The Hon. David P. Despotopulos, First Justice of the Worcester District Court, gave opening remarks and presided over the JYC Appreciation Day graduation ceremony. JYC participants, their families, and court staff were in attendance. 

In addition to Judge Despotopulos, speakers included: Thomas M. Bond, Esq., President of the Massachusetts Bar Association; Leonardo A. Angiulo, Esq., of Angiulo Law LLC in Worcester and a Massachusetts Bar Foundation representative; Akosua Agyepong, Esq., of Sequel Law LLC in Worcester and a past participant of the JYC program; and Worcester Judicial Youth Corps Coordinators James W. Rosseel, Esq., of James W. Rosseel, Attorney at Law, in Worcester and Luke Rosseel, Esq., of Rosseel Law in Berlin.  

For over 30 years, the Supreme Judicial Court's Judicial Youth Corps program has provided hundreds of high school students in Boston and Worcester, and in some years Springfield, an environment where they can learn about the rule of law and the judicial branch of government through an intensive educational internship. Students are given the opportunity to interact with judges, lawyers and other court staff and observe the judicial process first-hand. Students participate in mock trials, visit courtrooms, and work in court departments over the course of weekly educational sessions, a program overseen by court employees who mentor the students from May to August.
  
The Judicial Youth Corps was created in 1991 by then Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Paul J. Liacos. Hon. Roderick L. Ireland, Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court from 2010 - 2014, was actively involved in the program, beginning when he was a Boston Juvenile Court judge. The program was created with the goal of bringing together a diverse group of students to spend their summer learning about the court system. That led to the creation of the Judicial Youth Corps program, a paid internship with a rigorous application and interview process, with over 500 graduates. Graduates have gone on to work in various professions, including working as prosecutors, defense attorneys, in private legal practice, and two have been appointed as judges. Funding for the Worcester JYC program is provided by the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Massachusetts Bar Foundation.

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