Spotlight: Air Force Officer/Law Student Finds Inspiration in Victory and Defeat

Rodney Bullard, a second-year student at Duke University School of Law and a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, knows the value of personal challenges, whether they end in victory or defeat.

"I can remember being a frustrated 6-year-old boy, struggling to read, struggling to write, and struggling to fit in. I tried my hand at both wrestling and football, but spent all my time sitting on the bench," Bullard jokes.

With his mother employed as a professor of early education and his father having played as an offensive tackle for the Denver Broncos, Bullard recognized the importance of pushing himself to succeed both in and out of the classroom.

Despite his initial struggles in both academics and athletics, he forced himself to try harder. After getting involved with an interscholastic mock trial team in junior high school, he got his first thrill of victory in a local competition. That spark of success fueled his interest in the law and inspired him to an impressive array of achievements.

Bullard stuck with the mock trial program throughout high school and eventually received recognition as an All-State Attorney. He also hit the weight room and became the youngest starter on the varsity high school football team and later its captain. Meanwhile, Bullard diligently concentrated on his academics and was selected to the Georgia Academic All-State Team. In 1992, his outstanding accomplishments culminated in an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy, one of the most competitive college programs in the country.

"On June 29, 1992, my life changed forever," Bullard says, remembering the day he entered the six-week boot camp required of all new recruits. "It was a real culture shock-I had never been a part of any type of military training and had no idea what to expect." Like every other challenge, though, he took it in stride.

In addition to playing for the academy's varsity football team, Bullard worked his way through the school's rigorous cadet training program with an eye toward a commission in the Air Force. In the spring of his junior year, however, he suffered a serious knee injury that rendered him unable to play football the following season.

Discouraged but not defeated, he dedicated himself to other pursuits. Bullard joined the Big Brothers-Big Sisters program and became a mentor to children. No longer preoccupied by football, he wanted to compete for a slot on the academy's elite mock trial team, but discovered there were no openings.

Undaunted, Bullard created his own opening by founding a second mock trial team. "In order to recruit the requisite number of members, Rodney set out and rallied interest among his peers, who in fact had no trial experience," says Howard Eggers, an assistant professor of law at the academy. "His creation of an additional team was truly an unprecedented achievement."

Bullard led his team to third-place finishes in both the regional and national rounds of the National Intercollegiate Mock Trial Tournament in their first year. Moreover, Bullard was also individually recognized as the best attorney for the western region and the lead attorney for the All-American Mock Trial Team.

Bullard graduated from the academy and received his commission in 1996. Two years later, he was selected to attend law school and transfer to the Judge Advocate General Corps through a highly competitive military legal training program. While he already has a four-year obligation to the Air Force upon graduation from law school, Bullard aspires to further serve his country, particularly at the community level.

"I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunities I have received thus far," Bullard says, "and I want to give back to the community by continuing to serve actively in community outreach programs like Big Brothers-Big Sisters." For Bullard, this involvement also includes aspirations to establish a criminal litigation practice in his hometown of Atlanta, and potentially enter politics with a platform grounded in the revitalization of urban areas.

"Actually," Bullard says, "my ultimate goal is to become the first African-American chief justice of the United States Supreme Court." Asked how he will make his vision a reality, Bullard replies, "I will continue to strive to keep my life firmly grounded upon the four pillars of the Air Force Academy: spirituality, professionalism, athleticism, and academics."

To these four pillars, Bullard has added a pillar of his own: community service. With this addition, he has solidified a paradigm that can certainly guide all of us who will soon practice at the bar.

J. Eric Crupi

J. Eric Crupi is a freelance writer and second-year student at Wake Forest University School of Law.