Ashley Peppler, a current Drake Law 2L, enjoyed a summer in Washington D.C. where she worked as an intern at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service in the Office of Agreements and Scientific Affairs, Bilateral Agreements and Enforcement Division.
This division is responsible for bilateral agricultural trade negotiations as well as monitoring and enforcement of the agriculture-related parts of bilateral trade agreements that the United States enters into with various countries.
Peppler was responsible for compiling trade information and reviewing market access data for negotiations that spanned the globe. Peppler stated that “it was really interesting to learn about not only the work that goes into securing trade agreements but also the effort and coordination that it takes to ensure that the agreements are properly implemented and enforced.”
While working in D.C., Peppler also experienced the city and utilized opportunities to network with government officials including U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Senator Tom Harkin.
Peppler is thankful for the support that she received from Drake Law School in her pursuit of a prominent internship after her 1L year.
“The career development office at Drake Law School helped me cultivate the professional skills that I needed to secure an internship with resume advice, networking tips and interview preparation,” she said. “In addition, assistance from the Agricultural Law Center and Professor Hamilton was incredibly helpful in ensuring that I could take advantage of this great internship opportunity.”