I think I have an advantage as a writer and speaker in the legal context because of my bachelor's degree and professional background in literature and creative writing.
When did you graduate from BYU?
2001
What is your job/position? And how would you describe what you do in that job/position?
I am an attorney and partner with a civil litigation defense firm in Ohio. I defend businesses and individuals in personal injury and property damage cases arising from serious commercial truck accidents, products liability, fire loss, and maritime injuries.
Describe the path that you took from your BYU English degree to your current career, highlighting the important realizations and turning points that paved the path for you.
I taught secondary English and music for 10 years after graduating from BYU, during which time I also obtained a master's degree in educational administration. I met my wife while teaching in Utah, after which we moved to Michigan, where I taught at an urban magnet school for gifted and talented children. A few years later we returned to Utah to work for a small private school. After the private school failed, I quit education and prepared for law school, which I attended in Ohio (where I am from originally). I graduated from law school in 2014 and have been practicing law since that time.
What are the specific skills that you cultivated as an English major that you now use in your professional life? And how do you use those skills in ways that set you apart from your colleagues?
Effective writing and critical reading. I think I gained a foundation for these in undergrad at BYU and developed them far further as a teacher (particularly at the magnet school in Michigan). These two skills took a significant turn from the areas of creative writing and fictional literature to persuasive writing and digesting massive quantities of technical writing, judicial decisions, and evidentiary documents.
What are some of the surprising ways in which your English degree has helped you in your life?
I think I have an advantage as a writer and speaker in the legal context because of my bachelor's degree and professional background in literature and creative writing, and teaching them. I think these have allowed me to write and speak more effectively to my various audiences--clients, judges, jurors, and opposing lawyers. I think I have more flexibility in vocabulary, teaching and argument styles, useful analogies, and so forth.
What do you wish you had known as an English major? Is there any advice you'd like to share with current students?
Reading books, stories, and poems and writing critically about them can serve as a foundation for careers ostensibly far afield of the English/literature/education.
Contact:
joseph.center@hotmail.com