Meet Legal Intern & Volunteer Attorney William Fife
Meet William Fife our 2012 Summer Legal Intern turned volunteer in-house attorney. William was born and raised in Indianapolis and attended IU Bloomington for undergrad where he studied Public Affairs. Upon graduating, William entered the Peace Corps and lived for two years in the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific ( If you're wondering, as I was, where the Kingdom of Tonga is, please check out this Map Kingdom of Tonga ).William lived on an island five miles long by one mile wide with a population of about 1,000 people. Talk about culture shock. While there William worked on small business development and grant writing with different village counterparts. He organized youth groups to do commercial farming on unused land and spent a large amount of time in his final months there doing Tongan to English document translation.
"The experience there really opened my eyes to the day-to-day issues of poverty and social justice." William found himself passionate about helping empower those in need and says, "my entire life since that time has been focused in some way on serving the under-served."
William came to the Clinic as a summer intern in 2012 to work in our Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) Program where he worked with staff attorney Veronique Beuoy to research, develop legal education and do outreach to different communities who could benefit from the LITC Program. William graduated from Florida Coastal Law School in 2013 and returned to the Clinic to work with staff attorney Rachel Van Tyle in Immigration Law where he currently works closely with refugee clients.
When I asked William what he likes about working with the Clinic he says he strongly identifies with the Clinic's mission and that being a part of an organization who is passionate about serving the under-served has been very powerful for him. "That sense of mission and spirit has been an incredible experience. One of the best, if not the best, work environments I have been in."
William informed us recently that he has accepted a job as a staff attorney at the Micronesian Legal Service Corporation in the Marshall Islands where he will be working primarily in immigration law and land disputes. Since William will literally be on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I asked him what his favorite book, music and hobbies are: The Autobiography of Malcom X, Miles Davis and chess which he says "I am a junkie for chess". Luckily these are all things he should be able to pack in his bags when he heads to the Marshall Islands at the end of May.
William, thanks for all your hard work, passion and dedication. We loved getting to know you over the past couple of years and we are excited about your journey to come. Our prayers travel with you.