Buffalo Law

Law school gave me another opportunity to reinvent myself.

I became involved in the life of the institution. I served as an Admissions Ambassador and spoke with prospective and incoming students. I participated in student leadership and began imagining possibilities for myself that extended beyond earning a degree.

People around me sometimes suggested that I could pursue public office. I began to see that leadership—whether in government, law, or education—might actually be available to me.

Law school also forced me to reconsider some of my assumptions about community and solidarity. I learned that shared identity does not automatically produce shared priorities, political support, or even friendship.

I experienced disappointment in student politics, including losing an election for Student Bar Association president. In retrospect, the loss was useful. It taught me that leadership is not granted because someone believes he deserves it, or believe they do. People have to believe in the direction you are proposing, and sometimes they simply choose someone else.

What remained constant was my interest in education.

As graduation approached, I had choices to make. I considered opportunities that would have taken me in different directions, including doctoral study in New York and Florida.

I chose Florida.

Part of that decision was professional. Part of it was personal. And most of it was about fatherhood.

I wanted to remain in a position where my son could maintain meaningful relationships with both of his parents; where he could be near his mother.

Once again, I made a major life decision by asking not only what might be best for my career, but what I believed would be best for the people I loved. In honesty, I should have made this decision and others based on my needs and brought my son along.