Signing Off

by Jay Milbrandt (JD/MBA '08),

I arrived safely back at LAX this evening after what was a great trip. I feel that the trip was overall highly productive. Meetings with the International Justice Mission, Partners Relief & Development, Free Burma Rangers, Payap University School of Law, and the Garden of Hope created potential solutions to some of the problems I detailed in this blog, as well opening up many opportunities for Pepperdine and student internship placements.

On a more personal note, I feel that these trips always "center" me and remind me why we do what we do. It's reenergizing. I was apprehensive before the trip that great things were built up in my mind upon the foundations of my previous trip. I was worried I would be let down. That was certainly not the case. I could not have been happier and I wouldn't change a thing--unless changing something meant I could stay longer.

I am also happy with the blog. It was difficult to keep up. I wasn't always near the Internet and sometimes I had only a few minutes to write my post while running between commitments. My fast-paced schedule on this short trip left little time for writing and reflection. There is so much to tell that I feel I only scratched the surface with this blog.

So, where do we go from here? There is much to do. The non-profit will keep moving forward and taking on new cases, as well as dreaming about "big" new ideas. We have Pepperdine internship placements to be filled. We have some very interesting opportunities for our law school to get involved with legal issues in Burma, which I hope to begin following up on right away. We also have potential on-the-ground help in obtaining identification for the stateless families and children from Payap University School of Law and IJM. Finally, I did a lot of filming and interviewing regarding the issue of stateless children. If I got suitable footage, watch for a short documentary coming out this spring!

Thanks for following along. I'm always happy to answer any questions anyone might have, so feel free to email me. In about a week, this blog will be transformed into our Pepperdine Law Human Rights Blog, so check back then for more stories from our other adventures!