Cielo Citlalli Gutierrez Long with Judge Joseph N. Camacho in a courtroom Monday morning.
HARVARD University student Cielo Citlalli Gutierrez Long of Tinian is the summer intern of Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho for the next five weeks.
Long, who is studying government and philosophy under a pre-law track at Harvard, intends to immerse herself in law and the court system.
“I really wanted to come back home and dive and expose myself in the field of law to see if this is something that I really want to pursue in the future,” Long told Variety in an interview Monday.
She said her experiences in the high school mock trial propelled her to seek a legal career.
“I have amazing mentors that introduced me to the law, and they showed me…how the law works, and I…seemed particularly interested in it, so that was definitely one of the reasons why I wanted to pursue the field in the university,” Long added.
Elected speaker of the CNMI Youth Congress, Long was the salutatorian of Tinian High School’s Class of 2022. Her twin sister Isa was the valedictorian and, like Cielo, is now attending Harvard.
Cielo said she really kept herself busy in high school — “anything really that I can get my hands on.”
But, she added, “it was really mock trial that stuck with me. I just felt that it could lead to the career path that I wanted to take in the future.”
Right now, her focus is to get into law school. “I am hopeful, even If there are obstacles that come my way, I can still push past that and explore my potential no matter what obstacle comes my way,” she added.
Asked about her Harvard experience so far, she said, “As an islander it’s not conventional to go to an elite environment like that. The environment is great. Before I stepped foot into campus I was definitely intimidated. I did not know what to expect. But as soon as I settled into college, I really felt comfortable, the pressure came but it went away. It was hard to adjust to at first but now I think I’m officially integrated into the university campus life.”
When asked for advice for her peers and other students, Cielo said, “I would just say to push pass what you think is the definition of your potential no matter what you think you can’t do; you probably can do it. So, reach for the stars and you’ll land on the moon. That’s so cliché, but if you want to achieve it, no matter what comes your way…it just takes that inner discipline and inner grit to really achieve what you want to do.”
For his part, Judge Camacho commended his summer intern. “We appreciate her showing an interest to get into the field of law, and after law school, her plan is to return and serve the community,” he added.
