This spring the students in Anne Merkel's 7th and 8th grade writing class at Edgecomb's Center for Teaching and Learning went out into their communities to meet local working women and learn about their lives. They learned reportage, data-gathering, and interviewing techniques, and they experienced the process of making sense of data and crafting it as literature. Their goals were to learn how to conduct original, first-hand research and to make women's work and experiences more visible in their communities.

Melissa Whitt is a nice woman with almond-brown hair who works as a lawyer in a house-like office in East Boothbay. There is a sturdy dark wood table with a large computer on top, a shelf of binders, a whole kitchen, and a TV, just like a normal home. She has two kids who are seven and five, and she takes them to activities like karate and gymnastics.

Whitt always wanted to be a lawyer, but says she is not a “romanticized, bring-them-to-justice-in-court,” kind of lawyer. “I keep people from going to court, not being in one,” she stated. She mostly does estate planning, financial advising, and handles a lot of contracts. She works for herself and in bulk and has lots of meetings and calls during the day. Her job is very specialized: many things change all the time. It’s a lot of work to stay on top of her responsibilities and to keep learning.

She went to Boothbay Elementary and High schools, where one of her female teachers said she should be a paralegal, a more female-dominated job. However, afterward, she told one of her male teachers, and he said she should be a lawyer, a more male-dominated job. She went into Boston University knowing she would go to law school. “I thought of the more romantic side,” she remembered.

One of the biggest lessons that Whitt learned was, “the ability to say no,” and to protect herself from scammers and people that put her at risk with the things that they ask for. She also advised, “Marketing doesn't have to be ads: do a good job and people will come to you naturally.” She herself certainly does an amazing job. If you want to be a lawyer, Whitt says to take the time to shadow a lawyer if you can. When Whitt was in law school, she wanted to be more of a “trial” lawyer, but that wasn’t for her, so she took on what she does now.

Whitt is doing a great job helping out all of the people that need it in her community, at the same time as helping out her family. If you're in the area or see her taking her kids to karate or gymnastics — and you don’t want to go to court — she is the one to turn to.

This article has been updated from its original posting.