UAlbany Junior Lauren Mendolera Tackles Legislative Agenda through Stanley Fink Memorial Internship

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Lauren Mendolera Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (January 10, 2006) -- Lauren Mendolera, a University at Albany junior from the Buffalo N.Y. suburb of Elma, is the recipient of the Stanley Fink Legislative Internship for the spring 2006 semester. UAlbany established the university-wide internship in memory of the late Stanley Fink, former Speaker of the New York State Assembly, with support from the Bell-Atlantic Foundation. Mendolera is assigned to Assemblyman James Conte throughout her internship, which runs for a full semester and carries 15 academic credits.

Mendolera is an Honors English major with a minor in business and a 3.94 grade point average (GPA). She has been a teaching assistant in the Presidential Scholars Program, has been named to the Dean's List for four semesters, and has been involved with the International Mission on Diplomacy to Brazil. In addition, Mendolera participated in the 2003–2004 National and Eastern Conference Moot Court Competitions and volunteered on the Middle Earth Peer Assistance Hotline from September 2004 to the present.

Outside of academia, Mendolera has worked in a Buffalo law office and the New York State Attorney General's Office Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection. Her future plans include attending law school with an emphasis on business law.

Of the three university-wide internships at UAlbany, the Assembly is the most popular with nearly 75 applicants each spring. To be eligible, a student must have earned at least 56 academic credits at the University at Albany and be accepted into the New York State Assembly Internship Program. The Stanley Fink Internship carries a $1,500 award in addition to the $3,750 stipend the recipient receives for acceptance into the Assembly Internship program. Students must also meet the academic requirements for the Dean's List which consist of a 3.25 GPA for the first matriculated semester and a 3.5 GPA for all subsequent semesters.