I attended college with the intention of becoming a journalist.  While in junior high school, I had the opportunity to attend a press conference on behalf of my school and interview Rosa Parks.  She was very gracious, I had an interest in writing and current events, and the experience convinced me that journalism was the correct career path.  I attend the University of Tennessee on a full scholarship, as a Whittle Communications Scholar and fully expected to become a journalist.  However, during my junior year in college, I realized that something was missing.  I realized that a career in journalism, was not really going to make me happy.  One of my friends who was an English major, was thinking about applying to law school and I started to consider the same.  I realized that law school was an idea I had been flirting with for some time and that an extra three years of school really was not that bad.  After all, college seemed to fly by.

I applied to several law schools and finally decided to attend school in the State of Ohio.  Graduation was one of the proudest days of my life.  My parents divorced early in my life and had since remarried, needless to say there were quite a number of extended family in attendance.  Family from all across the country came just to see me and lend their support.  My mother informed me that my father's mother had always wanted my father to go to law school.  I never knew that.  After graduating, I took a job with the City of Cincinnati and worked as an Assistant City Prosecutor for several years.  Throughout law school I never thought that I would enjoy criminal law and I certainly did not think that I would ever become a prosecutor.  I was convinced that the only way to practice criminal law was to be a defense attorney.  I could not have been more wrong.  What I  learned was that it was just as important to have people who look like me in the role of prosecutor as it was for them to also be the judge, the defense attorney, and the juror.  I was the person who got to decide if a case got dismissed or if someone was offered a plea deal.  I was also the person who was able to give the victim his or her day in court and the person who could sometimes understand when no one else could. 

After a few years, I transferred to another division and became an Assistant City Solicitor.  I practiced in the General Counsel Section and also gained a wealth of experience there. I drafted contracts and legal opinions. I drafted ordinances and resolutions for the Mayor and members of Counsel and interacted with various members of City administration.  I also served as the law department's legal representative to the Citizen's Complaint Authority.  This is an entity that investigates major uses of force by police officers and citizen complaints.

A few years later, I decided to take a job my current job, working at a law firm and began practicing in the area of Workers' Compensation and Labor and Employment law.  I am very pleased with the career path I have taken and realize that my legal degree has afforded me a wealth of opportunities.  I strongly encourage any student to think about a career in law.  Nothing is more rewarding than going back to schools, talking to students and giving them the encouragement to become an attorney.  My profession has enabled me to not only serve the community that I live in, but as an African-American it has also afforded me the opportunity to give back to my community.