First Blog!

My main community partner this year is Florence Thuot, owner of Journey's End Animal Sanctuary. She is 83 years old, and I have learned so much from spending time with her.

I have always been one to "judge a book by its cover" (something i am still working on), and often times, it is very hard for me to break out of that. I know I limit myself in that way. Working with Florence, I have gotten to know her very well and she has become like family to me. She is a person from whom i have much to learn in the ways to taking care of people, or animals in need. Before she began rescuing animals, she would frequently bring people home off of that streets and fed and clothed them until they got back on their feet. There have been many times when i have called to check on her over the weekend to see how things are going and ended up talking for an hour, just about life in general. I know that she is someone who i can go to about anything. Being around her has taught me that i should never assume that i would not befriend someone simply because they do not fit the typical "friend profile" (whatever that may be). If it had not been for Bonner, I would never have gotten to know Florence and made such an amazing friend. I know that the relationship that I have developed with her will be one that lasts far past college and Bonner.

Lessons Learned

I am lucky to be able to work with more than one community angency in DeLand. I work with three instead. I have seen a lot in my short time there though. I never worked at such places before and it is touching to become close with the people running the angency and those getting help from the angency. I know that the one's getting help are animals but you can learn from them too. I have learned that the smallest gestures can make all the difference. For me, I work with animals who are sick, lonely, abandoned, and some that are potential guide dogs ready to help someone in need. I do the small things such as bathe and love on an animal. I remember one time when I went to Journeys End and I found that the most stubborn horse trusted me so much that it was unbelievable to everyone there. I was walking one horse to his stable so that we could start brushing them down and Raffy, the leader of the pack, just followed us all the way to the stables. By the time I had the horse I was leading in his stall, Raffy was by his own stall. All I had to do was point to the stall and he walked in. I never thought that this horse would trust me as much as he did right then. It goes to show you that animals can be polite and loyal as long as you take the time to show them you care and that you do not want to hurt them.

Valuable Lessons

Throughout my time in the Bonner Program, I have learned many lessons and skills. The one that continues to come up is the importance of patience. Currently, I am volunteering at Woodward Elementary and Journey's End. Although these two places are quite different from each other, patience is a must for making a true difference. At Woodward, for example, the ability to properly help the students reach their full potential only comes with a patient attitude. The same is true at Journey's End. When working with the animals, it is important to be sensitive to the fact the many of the animals have been abused or have some sort of illness. Therefore, it is necessary to be patient with the animals in order to give them the proper attention that they deserve. Patience is something that is important for many areas of life, but through my service with my community partners, I have learned that patience is very important for making a true difference in the life of another.

Reflections

It's hard to pin-point specific things that I've learned so far while working with the DeLand community partners. It's not necessarily just one piece of advice that I was given or a lesson that someone taught me, it's more like a piece of the community that was given to me. For instance, I've never been a patient person. The only time I can really sit still and wait is when I'm sitting on a bank fishing. However, last semester when tutoring kindergarten students at Woodward Elementary school I learned how to be patient, very patient. It's not that it's a tenuous job, or even very complicated but the effort that you have to put into making a child see excitement in learning is more than you can imagine. So something I might not even be passionate about, teaching children to read, I've learned is something to be passionate about, if not for my sake than for the sake of those I'm helping.

These days I've found a community partner I enjoy working with and while I find good things in all that they want me to do, I've come to learn that some of the most menial jobs in my opinion are the most drastic jobs for them. If it weren't for those who are willing to do the dirty work and pay attention to nitty, gritty details there would be no successful operations.

Valuable Lessons

I'm not 100% sure I can expand upon this, but if I've learned one huge thing from my CLAs it's actually two things. Firstly, everyone can do great things. Everyone is capable of finishing tasks, doing great work, and impressing others. Everyone is valuable. I've often met people within my work that have annoyed me to no end, but coming to the realization that they are simply doing what they need to get by can help you give them the leeway to be civil and maybe even friendly with that person. Not really sure if that makes sense, but I guess the bottom line is that you should always be open to working with others even if you don't mesh well with them. This leads me to the second thing I've learned. Though it sounds broad, I've learned you need to respect everything. Sure that sounds all hippyish and even kind of dumb but what has that person you don't mesh with done to aggravate you, really? What has the dog locked in a cage done to you? Probably nothing. Show everything some respect and try to put yourselves in their places. We're all so lucky to be where we are and should hope that others could have the opportunities that we do. I don't know where I'm going with this. Have a good week!
(upon reflecting on this I sound like a kindergarten teacher but whatever, you win some you lose some.)
(p.s. Why is it kindergarten not kindergarden? It really basically is a garden of babies just waiting to be grown up!)

Reflections on Our Conversation with Justice Clarence Thomas

Tuesday, February 02, 2010, should forever be marked in the history books of Stetson University. President Libby, upon presenting Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, remarked that Monday evening’s private dinner with Justice Thomas was among the best professional experiences of her career in academia. I could not agree more. Stetson would be hard-pressed to present students, faculty, and guests with a better event than the event that was held on Tuesday.

Clarence Thomas has a “made-for-TV” life story. Raised in the segregated South by his formative grandfather, Thomas largely self-educated himself through high school. Thomas grew up in rural Savannah, Georgia, in extreme poverty. The poverty in his community did not dent the pride, patriotism, and happiness of residents. They didn’t have money or material possessions, but these were not requisites for a good life. Thomas’ memoir, entitled My Grandfather’s Son, recounts his life story.

As Thomas mentioned during our discussion today, having to leave the South to attend college (and subsequently law school) was a very tough decision and something he greatly regrets. This point really resonated with me. I do not for one minute regret my decision to come to Stetson. I have received an amazing education, had many unimaginable experiences, and am well equipped for the future. However, leaving Iowa, my home, was difficult. I look forward to the opportunity to return to Iowa soon to live and work with the people I love most.

I have been looking forward to this opportunity from the moment it was announced. I contacted my former colleagues at The Federalist Society regarding the event, and one of them responded with the following comment: “He’s a wonderful man, very humble, gregarious, good natured. Loves spending time with students.” I could not agree more. What a genuine, gracious, kind, and caring gentleman. I do not get emotional that often, but I found it difficult at times to suppress my feelings. Justice Thomas made real the law and legal decision making in a way I’ve never experienced. Expressing his respect for district court judges and magistrates, Thomas said that his job was easy because he simply second and third guesses other judges opinions. He found the job of the district judge immensely difficult; imagine having to sentence someone to thirty years or life in prison; how about sentencing someone to death? This must surely be a heart wrenching decision, but one that must be made outside of empathy and personal preference and solely inside the realm of the law.

Justice Thomas fervently rejects being labeled or boxed in to a set of expectations. He is black. He is Catholic. But he is also a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. The former two should not and do not, in his mind, play any role in interpreting the law. His story is beautiful, and he is as proud an American as I’ve ever met. His support and reverence for the United States military is the hallmark of his patriotism.

I jotted down a host of questions to ask Justice Thomas in our private Q&A session, including the following:

Should law schools place a greater emphasis on statutory law as opposed to the current emphasis on case law?

What are your thoughts on abortion cases and the so-called privacy doctrine established in Griswold v. Connecticut?

You described your confirmation hearing in the following manner: “This is a circus, it’s a national disgrace, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way dain to think for themselves. And it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, you will be lynched, destroyed, [and] caricatured by a committee of the U.S. Senate, rather than hung from a tree.” Do you think this comment turned the tide of your nomination?

What is the scope of and why did you dissent in Part IV of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission?

However, for the sake of time, I decided to ask a question that was more meaningful to myself and, in my opinion, to Justice Thomas. It was a two part question, the more serious of which was the first: What was your experience and perception of the Midwest? And, of all the teams in college football, why do you like the Nebraska Cornhuskers? His response was much what I expected: the Midwest was a great place, with great people, and the place that launched his career. I think the second question kind of offended him! Haha.

Overall, I could not be happier with the day. I would like to thank the Apgar fund, Dean Ballenger, the Stetson College of Law, and Justice Clarence Thomas for organizing and putting on an event with such resounding success. I am so thankful and pleased to have had this opportunity. It is one which I will not soon forget.

Young Life Weekend Camp

First of all, let me fill you in on what Young Life is. It is an outreach organization the focuses on high school students. We make life long relationships with kids by going to them and listening to them. As a leader I run "club" every Monday night in which kids from the local high school come and participate in crazy games, sing top hit songs, and watch us leaders make fools of ourselves by performing in skits. Then, at the end of all of the craziness we talk for about 5 minutes about Jesus and what he means to us, and what he could potentially mean to the kids. Also, as a leader I mentor kids one-on-one. I give them what ever advice they need or simply hang out with them whenever they want. Here is a link to the website:

http://www.younglife.org/AboutYoungLife/

Two weekends ago I went to weekend camp. This is where kids can come and forget about everyday life and just have fun. We actually take their cell phones and any other electronics away from them, which at first they think is ridiculous, but then they realize how much they would have missed if they were on the phone the entire time. For example, at this particular camp there is a giant swing (a three-seater), something called "the flying squirrel" (this is where you climb up about 2 stories and jump); there are also 2 pools, one with a volleyball net and the other with a giant slide and diving board; there is also kayaking, a game room with pool, ping pong, ect. and a camp store and snack bar. This is where being a Young Life leader really pays off because I spend all weekend with the girls that attend camp and create great relationships them. I got to know some girls at camp the past weekend really well and have already had a great time going with them to Boston's and then their school basketball game. I can't wait to see how the semester turns out. Here is a picture from weekend camp of me and some of the girls on the giant swing. It doesn't look that high in this shot, but it starts out at about 3 stories up: