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Author: Athina Peterson


 

Covid Co-op: Peterson ’20 at Scholl Ashodian, Attorneys at Law in Philadelphia, PA

Feb 10, 2021
 

My co-op is with the one and only Roger Ashodian, a lawyer in Philadelphia where I recently moved to live. I live right next to Saint Joseph’s University and, due to Covid-19, have been wasting away in a decent-sized unit with a mini-fridge and a single burner. My landlord is nice so far and I think I will only have the two neighbors that are currently living here. My time in Philadelphia started with me being dropped in North Philly due to me being brand new to the city and having zero idea how to type in the address to my new place and not the apartments that were super cheap on Zillow. Unfortunately, I had to pay for housing in order to move to Philly due to poor planning. I linked my first-day experience I recorded on my Youtube channel—feel free to read me to filth in the comments for my grave mistakes (also like, comment, and subscribe).

However, being in the city has its benefits. I have options for cheap vegan food (although the delivery fee makes it go right back to expensive). It’s easy to social distance since my boss doesn’t want me in the office because I took a plane. And, since I don’t have a car here, I need to Uber everywhere, which means less driving (however, the kickback in the back of a car has put my bank account in disarray).

Anyway, about my job at Scholl Ashodian, Attorneys at Law. Well, I actually have never been into work. However, I have been working for attorney Roger Ashodian. This has included taking on a grant project with the ACES Museum, a veteran museum for veterans of color located to the south of Philly that has a lot of old artifacts. Their motto at the museum is, “Every day is Veterans Day,” and they honor every veteran and active soldier that stops by. I am so excited that I have been able to work there with a person named Dr. Althea Hankins and have learned about her experience in developing the museum. 

I am also involved with a series of projects connected to the Urban Affairs Coalitions (UAC), an organization that helps support nonprofits in Philadelphia through program development, fiscal sponsorship, and other services. Through this, I get on court calls with Attorney Ashodian to hear about his clients’ cases and learn more about foreclosure law, which is one of the many things he does. As of right now, I don’t think this type of law interests me but the work is plentiful. Plus, because of the fact that work and the three classes I am taking are fully occupying my days, I have very little time to think about how limited my interactions with the outside world are during the prime years of my youth. Well, I will be sure to come back and update you all shortly. Peace and lots of love… Virtually of course!

Photo credit: https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/10/philadelphia-ranking-best-places-live-united-states

Photo credit: https://www.acesmuseum.online