What made you want to join the Department's advisory board?
I was fortunate enough to have received a scholarship as an undergraduate at Ohio State. I benefited a great deal from my experience at OSU thanks in large part to the generosity of previous alumni and the strength of this Department and its faculty. I joined the advisory board as a way to give something back. Also, it’s been fun to visit campus again (without the exams) for board meetings.
Why did you want to attend Ohio State for your undergraduate education?
My older siblings went to Ohio State, and I had visited campus from my tiny hometown of Delphos, Ohio many times before coming here as an undergrad. In my young mind, “college” was synonymous with Ohio State. Though I of course went through the process of looking at other schools, it was practically inevitable that I would choose OSU. I didn’t realize until much later what a great choice it was for me.
Why were you interested in getting a degree in political science?
Choosing a major was very stressful. I was very concerned about picking the “right” major, but I was completely clueless about what that meant (I don’t think they make undergrads anymore who are as clueless as I was). Luckily, Ohio State offers plenty of choices, and by the time I’d had intro classes in a few subject areas, it became clear to me that I would enjoy the combination of analysis, observation and discussion that political science offered. Eventually I realized there was no “right” major, but this one was a good fit for me.
What was your favorite class in the Department of Political Science?
The breadth of topics I was able to study in the Department makes picking a favorite difficult. But if I have to choose, I’d say Dr. Thomas Nelson’s Intro to Political Behavior was the most transformative. It was the class that “started it all” for me, and the first place I ever heard about so many of the concepts that I still use to discuss and understand politics and the workings of government and the law.
What activities, internships, jobs, etc. were you involved in while at Ohio State?
I had two great on-campus jobs as an undergrad. One of those was being part of the staff of student animators who create and run the scoreboard animations during OSU’s sporting events at the big athletic venues on campus. It was a creative and fun job, and it allowed me to feel like I was a part of the game day excitement for all those fans. Especially when one of my animations at Ohio Stadium (touchdown Bart Simpson) inspired fans to wave their hands in the air in imitation of Bart’s celebratory gesture after OSU field goals. What an honor! My other job was being a board operator technician at WOSU AM. A great gig because everyone who worked there was interesting and I got paid to listen to NPR.
What has been your career journey after graduating from Ohio State? Have you always been interested in having a career as a Tax Counsel?
Like the undergraduate major decision, finding my way to the practice of law took me a long time. After undergrad, I worked for a number of years in book publishing at Random House and then Macmillan. That was fun and intellectually rewarding work, but ultimately it was the analytical side of law practice that drew me to the profession. After law school, I started out as an M&A lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton, and eventually specialized further and further until I ended up in the tax group as an ERISA counsel. I’m not sure anyone starts law school hoping to be an ERISA counsel (or even knowing what ERISA is), but I’m very happy to have found my way here.
