Becoming a public interest attorney is the culmination of a long-standing dream for Anita Delshad. "I always wanted to do public service law," said Delshad, who graduated last year from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. "I've wanted to do it since I was an undergraduate. Working in the public sector gets you the most experience early on in your career."

Now working as an honors associate at the New York City Public Housing Authority on a one-year term, Delshad, 25, owes her new job at the agency to Cardozo's Post-Graduate Public Service Fellowship Program.

Delshad was among the first 25 fellows of the program, which began last year to boost interest among students in public service employment, not-for-profit work and pro-bono projects.

The program, a vision of Cardozo Dean David Rudenstine, gave $5,000 fellowships to eligible graduates so they could work for up to 10 weeks in a variety of unpaid public law positions.

"The idea generates from a profound commitment to public service," Rudenstine said of the program. "It's just one more part of our overall commitment."

The program was funded through general donations to the law school made by alumni, students and their parents throughout last year, said Rudenstine.

Fellows worked a minimum of 20 hours per week and were required to secure their own assignments by Oct. 1.

Placements ranged from the Office of Legal Affairs for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to the New York offices of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the Asociacion por los Derechos Civiles, a non-profit group in Buenos Aires that works to protect the rights of Argentine citizens.

Jef Klazen, 27, undertook the assignment in Argentina.

"I had already done a number of civil and human rights internships during law school," he said. "When I learned of Cardozo's fellowship program, I decided to apply because the money would help me pay for my living expenses and would allow me to do an internship at an organization without getting paid."

During the assignment, which ended in December, Klazen said he worked to establish a freedom of information law for Argentina.

"I was asked to find the freedom of information laws of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as the leading court cases concerning those laws, and then summarize them in Spanish," he said.

Klazen, who will begin a position next month as an associate with Cravath, Swaine & Moore, plans to continue his civil rights work on a pro bono basis while working in the private sector.

Leah Ginsberg, 33, also participated in the fellowship program, which took her to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, where she wrote motions for cases involving defendants in community treatment programs. Her fellowship has turned into a permanent job as an assistant district attorney.

"I think firsthand experience is the most valuable information a person can get," she said.

Leslie Thrope, director of Cardozo's Center for Public Service Law, said that about half of the fellowships have turned into permanent jobs.

"This was kind of how we wanted it to work," she said. "It's nice to see it happening."

Delshad said that she anticipates staying with the city housing authority once her one-year term expires in November.

"I get the litigation and the transactional part of being an attorney, which you don't find in all law jobs," she said. "It's one of the huge benefits of the [fellowship] program. At the end of the day, I feel like I've contributed to something."

Ginsberg agreed.

"The program gave me the opportunity to confirm that the [district attorney's] office was the right place for me," she said. "It also allowed me to pursue the public service job I was passionate about rather than having to settle for another job out of necessity."

Applications for this year's program are not yet available, and Cardozo administrators say its future will be tied annually to available funding.

The program's first year, nonetheless, proved popular with students, Thrope said.

"Every single person had an extremely valuable experience," she said. "So often educators educate people and then throw them out into the world. This is a way to keep them connected."