On Tuesday, I had the unique opportunity of partaking in a virtual interview with a group of 13-year-old students in the AVID (Achievement Via Individual Determination) elective course at Carolina Springs Middle School. Their teacher, William Knopf, is an excellent coach, mentor, and educator. His class is designed to help students overcome life’s obstacles and achieve academic and professional success. I was honored to participate in the program by sharing with the students about my own childhood and public school experiences, my undergraduate studies, and how I gravitated towards the practice of law.
Without boring you with all the details, neither of my parents had the privilege of getting a college education, and it was actually my neighbor—a small-town practitioner in my southern Virginia hometown—who inspired me to become a lawyer. In the interview, I explained the path I took from there to where I am today: my strengths and weaknesses as a student, my academic track to earn a law degree, and the challenges and rewards that have come with 43 wonderful years of practicing law in South Carolina. I sincerely hope I gave these students some good advice and shed some light on what it takes to be a lawyer, although I’m sure I took away much more from this interview than I gave! All in all, it was an awesome experience!
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