KIP Student Feature – Kylee Liabeuf
Kylee Liabeuf (CAS’26, Political Science) completed her 2024 summer internship with the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office in Victorville where she assisted the department with case analysis. Her work over the summer helped reshape how Kylee thinks about the justice system and allowed her to explore ways in which justice work can “go beyond the binary of what most people consider social justice to be.”
Q&A with Kylee Liabeuf
Could you give us a brief description of the organization you are interning with and what your primary responsibilities are during this internship?
I am interning at the Victorville branch of the San Bernardino County District Attorney. I am assisting the violent and special crimes Deputy District Attorney with case analysis. I also assist other DDAs at this branch by listening to jail calls, uploading documents to our case database, and sitting in on trials for any last minute emergencies.
What area(s) of justice does this organization work in and how did your internship help promote/fulfill these justice goals?
This organization works in the area of criminal justice, but more importantly victim justice. There are so many more facets to justice that go beyond the binary of what most people consider social justice to be. I consider my internship at the DA in Victorville, CA to fulfill the goals of justice work because they provide victims with justice and clarity. Fulfilling the role of the government in court, a District Attorney works towards justice by prosecuting those accused of crimes.
I also consider this internship to fulfill the goals of justice work, particularly in my community, because the DA office can work to reform the criminal justice system by collecting research to inform policy decisions that can impact the criminal justice system. They raise awareness of important issues, such as gun issues, domestic violence, child abuse, and theft. The DA office in Victorville has brought awareness of gun safety and drug abuse to my community.
Has your work this summer changed how you think about justice issues?
I have always considered the American justice system to be reactive, rather than proactive. This has always bugged me slightly because there are always deeper systemic issues at play that cause individuals to feel like they must commit a crime. Victorville is the cheapest place to live in Southern California. As such, the area is incredibly low income and disadvantaged in educational and after-school programs. This pushes a lot of young people into gangs or other criminal organizations. It’s not a surprise the DA’s branch here has a well established violent crimes unit. Working there this summer has made me reshape how I’ve thought about our justice system. I still believe that there needs to be broader proactive reform, but it is currently working in a reactive way that’s both productive and sustainable in my area. While there are misdemeanor units that prosecute individuals for petty crimes, like shoplifting, most defendants do not face actual criminal charges and jail time. They will be put under probation and ordered to do community service.
How did you find out about this internship, and what advice would you give to students hoping to apply for this funding opportunity in the future?
I found out about the DA internship program after a bit of research into legal internship opportunities spring of freshman year because it’s one of the only ones in my area of California. However, the applications had already closed for Summer 2023. So, I stalked the DA’s internship page until applications opened for Summer 2024 in December. I applied in early January and they got back to me in March as soon as the application window closed asking for an interview. A week later I received the acceptance. I would recommend looking for more local internships rather than ones open to remote work. I applied to about 20 internships for this summer and only received an interview from this one. The DA’s office is local to my community and they don’t receive many applications. Many of the internship opportunities available during the summer on Handshake are open nationally, making it much harder to even hear back from them.
To other students hoping to apply for this funding opportunity in the future, I would recommend finding your internship as early as you can in the spring semester and then applying to KIP before the end of March, when rolling applications open.
How has the Kilachand coursework and/or the KIP summer mentoring sessions helped prepare you for the work you are doing during your internship?
Throughout my time in Kilachand thus far, I have taken many classes that aim at teaching interdisciplinary topics. For example, although KHCHC301 had a main focus on climate change, the class also talked about the justice and prison system one day. Kilachand’s interdisciplinary goals have made me think more critically about the work I’m doing and how to sustainably think about the criminal justice system.
I really enjoyed the mentoring sessions held by Dr. Fish this summer. She helped me figure out what to write on my resume and how to talk to my supervisors.
Learn more about the Kilachand Internship Program here.