Resume, to see if there is anything, of interest, or that sparks, some ideas, you want to discuss? I was awarded, or recognized as the professor, family law, undergrad, in the Family and Consumer Studied Department, for being the "TOUGHFEST GRADER ON THE U OF U CAMPUS, WITH THE HIGHEST STUDENT APPROVAL RATING!" So, I know a few things about
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Dear John,, it was nice meeting you, today, and I am fascinated with what we discussed today, glad, that I had a sweet tooth for some cake! LOL! I have been thinking about our conversation, about education, integration of ideas, majors, areas of focus, needed to be prepared to compete in today's market and world. I thought of a few things after we spoke and I am sure as I sleep on it, more will come. I thought, I might take a few minutes, to force myself to think, on what, a student, graduating and prepared for a tough, but interesting market, especially, going into the world economy or globalism, that we are entering into, might look like. Your son's Mandrin, and other, language skills, that this area produces, ought to give students, a leg up on about anyone, when it comes to being ready, for the expansion of markets, economies, trade, technology, commerce, especially, how that relates to, computers, coding, programing . . . something I am not real interested in, and not great in that area, but, kids that are tech savvy, and user friendly, able to communicate to others, who are needed, to make jobs, research, marketing, and other tasks easier, I believe would be of value to everyone, and having the writing and communication skills, necessary, to present those skills and knowledge, to companies, leaders in government and business, educators and networkers, would take a well rounded, inclusive, expansive, diverse and comprehensive education, training, and on the job, experience, either through, mentors, internships, volunteer programs, etc., can aid the students with the comfort and scope of what they might be interested in not only pursuing, but enjoying as a career, in this fast paced world, where technology changes every three days!
I had the opportunity, and joy, of being selected, one of two, from a very prestigious, law firm, largest public interest, law and education firm in the nation, as a Louisell Intern, with Americans United for Life, in Chicago, Ill., between my second and third year of law school . . . I was exposed to everything from, doing research in all 50 states, to working with the CDC or the Center for Disease Control, interfaced with the American Bar Association, just doors away, this law firm, is key in all life, issues from abortion, to physician assisted suicide, and they are always invited to the Senate Judiciary Confirmation hearing of United States Supreme Court Justices, I helped with research and briefs, that went to the High Court, worked with attorneys, who are renowned in this area of law, and are expert witnesses or the AUL, is always, considered, influential, when it comes to not only testifying before Congress, but, asking the nominees or appointees, questions, concerning these hot topic issues. I never knew that when I was at the law firm, but, I know they recruited at all, at the time, 150 law schools, generally selecting top ten and law review students from the most prestigious law schools, like Obama from Harvard, don't ask me how I got there, a fluke, actually, it was raining cats and dogs on the day, the recruiter was at the law school and I didn't even know about the meeting where he told about the opportunity, but as luck would have it, I was standing at the back doors of the law school, and waiting for the torrential rainfall to die down, and it didn't look like it would any time soon, so, some Asian law student, whom I somewhat knew, told me there was a lecture on abortion, in the room down the hall. Why not? I had no idea what the meeting was about, but there as good deal of students in attendance, and I asked several questions, or commented, without really understanding from the information, I got, but, after the meeting, and discussion, the visiting attorney, the scout for the prestigious and impressive, law firm, asked me if I could meet with him after the lecture or whatever it was, and I don't think, I ever really knew, but, I met with him, and when he kind of offered me one of two positions, I asked him, what type of students normally get the job . . . oh, law students from Ivy League schools, like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Northwestern, etc. and I said, well, then you will appreciate my sweatshirt, and on the back, it said, the TOP TEN REASONS I WAS NOT TOP TEN! It was a funny shirt, can't remember what it said, but he got a kick out of it, and I got the opportunity of a lifetime, expanding my horizons, challenging my skills, both in research and writing, the firm, used to call me the "PSYCHIC RESSEARCHER" because, other attorneys would go looking for research and come back with an item or two and I would bring back an, inch and a half of research . . . having gone to both law school libraries and medical libraries and in addition to that, to hospital learning centers . . . I think, I went to the same hospital, that First Lady, Michelle Obama, worked in administration.
This definitely expanded my mind, let me see how the United States operated, levels of government, courts and who, this type of law firm interacted with government and the courts, their function with the states, and by the end of the summer, the AUL, had a training for legislators from all 50 states! And the topic is still a hot one, several years ago, I was contacted by an attorney, from Oregon, who, fought for another law firm of this sort, and was asked to deal with end of life issues, dying with dignity and the right to do so, and physician assisted suicide or stopping it--I can't remember the side she wanted me to represent, but she told me to DUMB DOWN MY RESUME, and I would not, and I think, the other attorneys on the project were too intimidated! LOL! Oh, well, their loss, I am deadly at passing and killing legislation, the main reason, I even went to law school. But, that topic, was the hottest of the 2014 session, and more money was spent either defending or fighting it than any other piece of legislation. Not only do internships, open doors, expose opportunities that others might not get, but, there is this vast, network of politics, government, NGO's, or non-government agencies, non-profit, that students need to know exist, whether they work in the sciences, technology, or the humanities with a liberal arts background . . . Ted Turner, of Turner Classics, said, that the combination of humanities and business was, amazing. Many companies are looking for humanities students who are the first ones around a conference table to come up with creative and innovative ideas, to further a company, and take it in new directions.
Paradigms or diagrams that might be of use:
- have the students, draw a circle, or a professor or particular department on campus, and have them take their current major, or minor, divide the circle into sections and list all the ways this degree, might be used, and what the skills are that they would need to fill the majority of those pieces to the complete pie, from, training, in that area, to marketing themselves, to the time, money, energy, other integrated studies that might, dovetail nicely with that major, opening their minds to new possibilities and options.
- the old definition of gifted, used to be: (1) intelligence and I would add, intellectual curiosity, in that area of study, a thirst for knowledge; (2) tenacity or the ability to stick with it, and the more adept the student is, or likes the subject area, or finds it fascinating the more likely they are to stick with the program, degree, graduate, and go out and represent Dixie State University well, bringing in new students, money and jobs to graduates; and finally, (3) creativity, one of the things that I believe, made my cases and briefs so fun, was creating a whole new style, fun, interesting, imaginative, integrating my English Literature with law, using metaphors, analogies, comparisons, and drawing conclusions, that were both legal and also, informative and telling of the conflict and situation at hand, and tons of attorneys, would ask, "Is this a legal brief?" My answer would be, all the rules of procedure, say, is that you have to do the first part of the brief, with your contact information, the name and jurisdiction of the court, the parties, the judge, the reference number and that was about it, so, I had fun with it, and others were willing and interested, in reading it, same with my blog, people are generally hooked, the first time they read it . . . I just was me!
- relevance, relevance, relevance to the world the student's live in, on campus, in the community, in their families, in a job, contributions they can make to anyone . . . this generation of millenniums, or millennials, is all about making the world a better place, much like their boomer parents, this generation wants to leave the planet, cleaner, the air better, the water supplies, the oceans and natural resources, for future generations . . . they are very trusting of authority; therefore, they are open and trusting of parents, leaders, professors and look to them for direction, on the other hand, if one of those authority figures, fails them, they will turn on them with a vengeance, so you get a great kid, who can turn into a nightmare
- the way I conducted my family law classes, at both BYU and the University of Utah, when I taught for three hours straight, was to lecture, always, coming right from the material, so the students didn't feel they bought their book in vain, with the professor, going off road, so to say, all the time, but giving them an assurance that they had the book to rely on, with my lectures, mirroring the information in the book, so, the student, each week, and three interactions with the material: (1) reading it at home, on the assigned chapters; (2) hearing me explain and make relevant, the topics, and the law, working in the areas, of domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, and other topics, that interfaced, with what we were learning in class, I always had fresh, fun, interesting stories and examples to bring, it home, making it relevant, either to them personally, or to the society or community, in which they lived! and (3) I would divide the class up into presentation groups, and after I lectured, they were to take the material covered, make a game, or some activity, that, would again, go over in a fun and informative way, the same material from a different perspective . . . I mentioned Donald Trump and Ivana, they were going through a divorce at the time, one of the groups, had to present on property division, and whatnot, and this group, dressed one person up like the Donald and the other like Ivana, formal dress, feathered scarfs, and played, WHEEL OF FORTUNE, with questions and teams and it was so fun, and cool! in the 7 years I taught, there was not a dull presentation or group activity, they would also bring snacks, fun treats, and everyone enjoyed it every week! The students knew how to make it relevant for the rest of the class . . . if BYU and the U of U, were playing football, in the big rivalry, they would divide the class into teams and throw, small footballs and ask questions from the material! Every fun!
- some information was timely to their lives, station, and situation, like, telling of cases, that dealt with, prenuptial agreements, when Donald and Ivana Trump were getting a divorce, or cases that dealt with birth control or a baby, and child support, with several now married, shotgun style, said they wished they had my class, like a year earlier! We talked adoption, marriage, etc., all very relevant topics, and interesting to the students, if I brought it home to them
- feel free to use any of this material, distribute it, and hopefully, some good will come of it, I should be in town, for at least, 10 days, if you would like me to sit in, or I may decide to stay, for a few months, in that event, feel free, to call me, at 406.607.0072, and I would love to sit in on a discussion group or planning meeting.
Sincerely, JoAnn S. Secrist, J.D.
Sorry, I just switched to a new computer, and I am not sure how to transfer, my resume from Google, to MSN? LOL! Do you have an IT person or student who can help? I will have to get my daughter to help me, she used to work at IBM! Case in point, get those techies trained and out there helping us techno retards!
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