Leader-in-the-Field Interview

For the Leader-in-the-Field Interview i chose to interview Monty Hightower.  Though I do not have a major in mind yet, I know I would like to go to Law School. That is why I chose a Lawyer to Interview.  He is a lawyer at his own firm.  When I asked Mr. Hightower what type of lawyer he was he smiled and said, "Lets just say I am a general practice lawyer."  He has been a Lawyer for many years, he would not tell me how many years because he joked that "it would admit myage" if he told me.  He did tell that "you are not a skilled lawyer till about the fifth year of practicing law, so I am a very very very skilled lawyer.  After that you can usually chose your cases and clients you would like to represent and who you think it worth representing."

Mr. Hightower attended college right here at the University of Oklahoma where he majored in Finances. He had no idea he wanted to be Lawyer.  He said "Being a Lawyer never crossed my mind when decided my career." He went to work at an oil business right after he recieved his undergrad for a couple years.  That is where he decided he wanted to go to Law School.  At first he still did not know if he wanted to be a Lawyer or just have a law degree and go into different areas of Law.  He soon decided that he wanted to be a Lawyer.  Mr. Hightower went back to the University of Oklahoma for the second time and enter into their Law School. 

The hardest part for Mr. Hightower in Law School was the first year.  He said "After the first semester really, of Law School it gets easier.  The next 5 semesters seemed a lot easier for me because you got to choose what classes you liked and what figure out what type of Law you would like to practice."  The one thing that Law School taught him that was not in the books was "Law School was just a totally different world. It was a new way of teaching. They asked a lot of questions, which were no right or wrong answers to, you had to learn through those questions. We did so much talking to get us ready for the real world. Where we would be in the court rooms." "I figured out very quickly that not everything is black and white, especially not the Law." He always said that "It was different having teachers wanting your opinion about something." He told me that there is one test in Law School. You either pass or fail it.  All thru Law School Mr. Hightower worked as a clerk in a Law Firm. He said this helped him a lot because it made it familiar with different cases,being in a court room, and working with clients. He worked during all three years of Law School. "It is recommended that you don't work your second and third year of Law School, but I had to do what I had to do and I do not regret it." When I asked him if he ever had any doubts while in Law School, he said, "Well of course I did, I do not think your human if you don't have some doubts in life. I remember sitting down plenty of times with my former wife, and discussed if this really was a good idea, or if I should go back to work and save money, my answer was always no. I really did and still love the study of Law."

After Law School Mr. Hightower said "It was not that hard for me to find a job, I moved back to my hometown, it really was no biggie." His first job after Law School was at Stacks and Barnes. It was an Oil and Gas Law Firm. He said "In my opinion small towns are better for practicing Law, especially for someone who is just starting out, like I was." When talking about his first year of practicing Law he said "The first year, or maybe even the first couple of years, I took whatever cases I could. It was a good way to get my name out there." He said he is glad now that you is able to chose what cases he wants and what cases he does not want to take. "It gives me more time for my family now that I am at a point of where I can take what cases I want, Its a good reward for working so hard for so long." 

After my interview with Mr. Hightower, I still think I would like to enter into Law School after I get my undergrad.

Future At OU

I know the four years I will spend at OU will go by so fast. During my time here at OU I see myself being very active in my sorority, Alpha Phi. I always would like to get involved with the Panhellenic Association here at the University. I hope that maybe my junior year I can be represent my chapter at Panhellenic meetings and events. I love my chapter very much and want to be involved with them as much as possible. I know when we have elections for next years offices I will for sure want to get involved with that, though I do not know exactly which office I would like to run for. 

I would always like to get involved with the lead team because that seems like it would be so much fun. I love things like that. I just worry that I wont have enough time to get involved in leadership things here at OU. 

Another thing I can see myself doing at OU is being involved in the pre-law club and events. After my four years at OU I am hoping that I will get into the Law School here at OU. I think being in a pre-law club would really help my interest grow. 

It is hard to say what I would do at OU if I could do anything because a major thing for me is that I have to have time to do everything. Sometimes I wish that we could only have classes every other week so I could actually get the other things done I have to do outside of classes.

Attitude

Attitude plays the most important role in accomplishing group tasks. If you are in a group of people working together it is hard to get anything done if even just one person has a bad attitude. Being negative and having a bad attitude can bring the whole group down, and nothing would get accomplished. Attitudes are very contangious. If someone has a bad attitude it is easy to rub off on someone else, especially if the person is being mean to the other it will make them be in a bad mood and have a bad idea as well. On the other hand having a good attitude can make the world of difference especially while working with others. If just one person has a good attitude they are much easier to work with and other people will much rather work with them then the person with a bad attitude.

Someone that has influenced me because of their attitude is my student council teacher in high school, Mrs. Mesvery. She always had a good attitude which made me actually want to go to her class because of all the good energy that was in the room. I had so much respect for her mostly because of how positive and uplighting her attitude always was. It made me want to do things and get more involved. Sometimes I would go to her class and be in the worst mood but by the end of the short hour she would have either made me laugh or lift me up in some way to make my day better.

"Our Attitudes are Our Most Important Assets" I believe this statement is so true because our attitudes are so important. Like i said earlier they control so much, like how other people see us and feel about us. No one wants to work with someone who has a bad attitude, but people will line up to work with someone who has a good attitude just because it is more pleasant. As leaders having a good attitude is very important and will help every single person get further in life.

Problem vs Challenge!

In life I like to think of things as a challenge more then a problem. Ever since I can remember my dad has always told me that there are always going to be bumps in the road nothing will ever be perfect. As I have gotten I have realized that more and more. I think of the bumps in the roads as challenges more then problems. There are always going to be things that go wrong, you just can not worry about every little thing. When things go wrong it is easy to freak out and overreact over a problem. But if you just take a step back and look at the situation it might be easier to overcome then you think. I know firsthand that overreacting because of a so called "problem" does not make anything better, it actually makes it a lot worse. 

Letter from OU

Dear Lawton High School Seniors,

The best advise I can give any of you is just to have fun and enjoy your senior year because it only happens once and you can never get it back. Another thing that I am so grateful for that I did my senior year is apply to college early. I applied to OU in September and got my acceptance letter in November. I was so glad that I applied early because I didn't have to worry about it all year. When some kids were stressing about where they were going to college and about applying, I already knew and was set. It makes your senior year a whole lot easier. Make sure to watch out for deadlines especially with your senior paper. Deadlines will sneak up on you out of nowhere they sure did to me. You also have to make sure to keep your grades up all year and watch your grades all year. You don't want the end of the year to come where all the fun is like prom and senior week and you being stuck worrying about your grades and trying to bring them up at the last minute. That would not be fun at all. But again just make sure to enjoy your senior year and have fun! It only comes once in a lifetime! 

-Taylor Burgess

Bystander Behavior

I know in my life I have been a bystander many times even if it was just a little thing. One situation that stands out in my mind about me being a bystander lately is a little thing but still me being a bystander. When I check my email and I have an email from someone in my Understanding Dance class which has like 150 people in it. That says something on the lines of "I have missed classed and wonder if anyone could email me the notes we took in class." I always seem to just ignore and delete the email. I always think that someone who knows the person better will email them the notes and help them out. Now I really do wish I would have stepped in and helped them out. Since I have been sick and missed so many classes I know how they felt when they needed the notes. I know how stressful it is to miss classes and I really hope someone would step in and help me. I think college students do not speak up against wrong doing because it is just easier to think that someone else will do it and fix the situation. I know that is how i felt.