Others' paths

On Monday, I got the chance to have coffee with a political appointee who works in a part of the Department that focuses on policy. His career, prior to becoming a political appointee at the age – I would guess – of no more than 26, consisted of working on a state political campaign for a summer during college and then on the Kerry campaign another summer. He also had taught in a Brooklyn public school through Teach for America. Upon the completion of his undergraduate degree at Harvard, he applied to law school, but didn’t go. Even still, he does not have a law degree, but he is seriously considering getting it because he sees it as a chance for him to open doors to higher positions in the future, as many of his colleagues and superiors have law degrees. He cautioned someone going into law school that weren’t firm in their direction (whether that be a specific policy or area of law) because he said that there was a high-likelihood that one would get caught up in the ambition of the other law students and lose his sense of direction or focus.