Noah DeSimone said his interest in public service was impressed upon him by his family at an early age. As a child, he watched his mother act as a translator for his Italian grandparents as they ran errands like visiting the bank or hardware store. Coming from a family of first and second generation immigrants, DeSimone said he saw the importance of advocating for people, especially those who might struggle to have a voice in an unfamiliar environment.

“I always thought it would be cool to stand next to someone and speak for them,” DeSimone said. “Not everyone is the best at putting into words what they need, or navigating a system.”

A 3L, DeSimone hopes to serve as a public sector attorney in the Philadelphia area after he graduates from Drexel University's Thomas R. Kline School of Law.

DeSimone already has a head start toward his career goal. During the summer of 2022, he served as an intern for the City of Philadelphia's Code & Public Nuisance Litigation Unit, which specializes in zoning and license issues for the city. DeSimone said he applied skills he learned at Drexel Kline Law during his internship. For example, DeSimone regularly dealt with the statutory interpretation of federal law and city codes, which he first learned about through a Legislation & Regulation course in his first year at Drexel Kline Law.

“[The Office of Career Strategies] actually recommended I apply for the Oxholm fellowship that funded my internship... They're always on the line ready to give advice.”

DeSimone's summer internship with the City of Philadelphia was funded through Drexel Kline Law's Carl “Tobey” Oxholm III Summer Fellowship, which is awarded annually to students seeking a career in public service. He also got to work closely with another Drexel Kline Law graduate, Desjeneé Davis, JD '21, who received the Oxholm Fellowship in 2020 and now works for the city as an assistant city solicitor in the Philadelphia Law Department's litigation group.

For DeSimone, working alongside a Drexel Kline Law graduate and former Oxholm fellow speaks to the law school's excellence at preparing students for meaningful careers.

“It's a school where people are trying to make a name for themselves,” DeSimone said. “Everyone has that same drive, I think, in recognizing that the school is newer.”

As a first generation law student, DeSimone admitted he struggled at first to find an internship aligned with his interest in the public sector. However, he credits Drexel Kline Law's Office of Career Strategies for guiding him through each step of the internship application process during his first year at Drexel Kline Law, from reminding him of application deadlines, to providing more nuanced professional etiquette advice along the way.

As DeSimone weighed multiple offers for internships, the Office of Career Strategies helped him assess his options and pick the best one for his goal of working in the Philadelphia area.

“They actually recommended I apply for the Oxholm fellowship that funded my internship,” DeSimone said. “They're always on the line ready to give advice.”

DeSimone's experience in the public sector continued in the fall through Drexel Kline Law's co-op externship program. He served in the United States Department of Labor's Office of Administrative Law Judges, working with the 2014 Oxholm Fellow, Eric Bergel, JD '14, an attorney advisor who also leads the Department of Labor's internship program.