Civic Engagement – Page 27 – Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics

LEAP Marks its Culinary Passport with Argentina!

by Olivia Discon

In our efforts to become more culturally aware, we participated in the World Affairs Council’s “Culinary Passport” series, hosted by the Global Young Professionals program. This was a first for most of us in attendance, but if there is one thing we love doing, it is trying new things! Argentinian food was on the menu for the evening, which was held at Morfi Argentino in Houston. The restaurant felt larger than life, not by the size of the space, but by its vibrancy.

Upon entry, we were met with music, lively conversation, and best of all, the familiar faces of the WAC staff.

It was an honor to hear from the distinguished guest speaker of the evening, Andino Reynal. Reynal has had an extensive career, ranging from working as a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Texas and the United States Attorney’s Office. With many of us in our group being aspiring attorneys, we were eager to pick his brain and hear more about his experience.

Another interesting aspect of Andino’s career is that immediately out of law school, he worked for Baker Botts, LLP, the law office of former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker. James Baker worked under six United States Presidents and is currently a senior partner at the law firm.

We were also joined by Houston’s Consul General of Argentina María Cristina Tosonotti, who was eager to share with us all of the reasons why Argentina is a nation of opportunity. With a vast oil supply, a dynamic economy, and strong heritage, we were reminded of Argentina’s bright future and encouraged to make visits on our own someday.

We started with two empanadas of our choice, all of which were much loved by the group. As for our dishes, we each tried to order different things to get a good sampling of the menu. We tried Chicken and Beef Milanese, Chicken Polermo, and Milanesa Fugaza, all of which were absolutely delicious!

While we enjoyed our food, we were able to speak with Consul María and Andino Reynal about what they are doing in their current careers and their perspective on many of the key issues going on in the world today. This was an excellent way to discuss world affairs with two experts within their respective positions, making for a great learning opportunity.

In all, we had a fantastic time at this WAC event! The intimate setting allowed for a personalized educational experience with such distinguished individuals while also enjoying an aspect of Argentinian culture.

A LEAP Week in the Life of a LEAP Ambassador

With today being Leap Day, we thought it only appropriate to reflect a bit on what a week in the life of a LEAP Ambassador looks like. We get a lot of questions about what LEAP Ambassadors do, and the answer isn’t easy, because our activities are diverse and numerous. Perhaps a look at our last week will provide some insight!

The LEAP Center has only two staff members, so our job is to assist the Center with the events. In the process, we have the benefit of networking, gaining professional skills, and learning new things. So, here’s our week leading up to LEAP Day:

Monday: Every other week, we begin with a general meeting, which usually lasts around three hours. Much planning goes into this meeting, and it allows us to maintain an every-other week meeting schedule (we have advisor-less meetings on off weeks) and be prepared for our upcoming events.

Tuesday (Afternoon): We offered a Mock Law class taught by South Texas College of Law Professor, Val Ricks. You can read about it here, and as usual, Professor Ricks did a great job teaching. This event also gives an insight into the LEAP process.

Note: The above event provides some insight into how LEAP works. More than 45 students attended the event, plus a local judge and a teacher from HHS. All attended without being given credit, “service/engagement hours,” or extra credit. Moreover, some had to take off work, and all had to do readings before hand. If you offer quality programs, people will attend without artificial inducements, and they will get more out of the program.

Tuesday (Night): That evening, a few of our Ambassadors volunteered at the Reagan Dinner, enjoying dinner with Judges Smith, Moorman, and Johnson and seeing some old friends, while others did additional preparations for our upcoming photography exhibit at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and Republic of Texas Presidential Library.

Wednesday: We had our first Pre-Law Society meeting of the semester. With a record 96 members (!), we showcased LEAP Alumni, including first-year attorney Victoria McClendon, 3L student Quinn Kobrin, and Blake Roach. Afterward, we had a chance to catch up additionally over dinner. We also did a photo-op for a recently established pre-law scholarship following donations of $25,000!

Thursday: This was just our regular day of classes, office hours, and work. Among the five LEAP Ambassadors, they have 7 jobs–and a collective 3.70 GPA!

Friday: On Friday, we attended “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,” written by Tom Stoppard and performed by SHSU’s Theatre Department.

Saturday: We joined 25 other community members to plant trees at Huntsville Elementary. This event, which you can read about here, was with our friends at Trees for Houston. And we met new friends at Huntsville Elementary, where we discussed with Principal Cross the possibility of returning in the fall to do social studies presentations to students and a “Mock Election.”

In all, we participated in events with more than 750 people, we hosted a program for the University, and developed our (and others) knowledge of pre-law, politics, theatre, the sciences (the environment and botany), landscape architecture, and event planning! A typical week in the life of a LEAP Ambassador!

Trees for Houston–and Huntsville!

One of the LEAP Ambassadors favorite events in 2022 was assisting the Boys and Girls Club with tree-planting, a project sponsored and supervised by Trees for Houston. So it was a special treat for the LEAP Ambassadors to work with City Fellows intern Lulu Lopez, staff from Huntsville Elementary, and community volunteers to plant two dozen trees on a Saturday morning.

We were able to meet Abby Clark (Development Director), Natalie Roberts (Volunteer Manager), Sarah Trippel (Assistant Project Coordinator), and Katherine Newton (Projects Director) for the first time, and we were pleased to work again with Travis Weedle (Project Coordinator) and landscape architect Falon Mihalic.

We went through a training session, led by Natalie Roberts with an assist from Travis Weedle…

…and then we got down to business:

…measuring the area to dig…

…digging…

…which occasionally involved a pickax…

…planting…

…and filling in. It was a great education, while also working toward a worthy cause.

Professor Yawn showed his age a bit, slowing down in the hot sun, but he soldiered on. Lulu and Morgan got the toughest soil to dig into, with rocks populating their area.

But with LEAP-grit, they finished the job. Cinthia and Olivia hummed along, finishing first; while Michelle proved herself a trooper, despite having a general aversion to manual labor.

And along the way, we formed additional relationships. We met the Principal and Assistant Principal of Huntsville Elementary, Christy Cross and Meolody Saladiner. We even discussed the possibility of future partnerships, particularly a potential collaboration on a “Mock Election” in the fall, which would serve to teach young people about the electoral process.

But the matter at hand was planting trees, and with approximately 30 volunteers overall, we were able to plant the mini-grove of maple, elm, and sycamore in a little more than two hours. It was a day of learning and, in more ways than one, planting seeds for the future.

Voir Dire with the Freshman Leadership Program

A new semester means another collaboration between the LEAP Center and the Freshman Leadership Program. And this year, the two offices decided to do a Simulated Voir Dire, giving them a broad overview of the jury selection process. And so it was that Associate Dean Lindsay Lauher, FLP Program Assistant Dante Tamez, Professor Mike Yawn, and the LEAP Center’s Sarah-Hope Carter came to be pretend lawyers for a day, along with 30 promising leaders who participate in the Freshman Leadership Program.

The students were provided with creative biographies, requiring them to take on the perspectives of 53 year-old plumbers, 34 year-old teachers, previously convicted drug dealers, and the like. Collectively, they constituted the jury pool, brought together to consider charges of drunk driving with an associated injury.

Professor Yawn stepped them through process of checking in, the background interviews they would do, the research attorneys might undertake, and the legitimate reasons for which a potential juror might be excused.

Yawn took the students through the question-and-answer process that potential jurors go through to determine their suitability, as well as the difference between a “strike for cause” and a peremptory strike.

Beyond the strict voir dire process, students also learned a little about criminal procedure, as well as upcoming events hosted by the LEAP Center. The students, befitting future leaders, were highly engaged, with McKenzie Menefee proving particularly knowledgeable. In fact, Menefee and Lilly Temple-Dozier ended up joining the Pre-Law Society!

It was an enjoyable and educational afternoon, another rewarding cohort of the Freshman Leadership Program.

CHSS Honors Alumni, Faculty at Wall of Honor

For the 10th time, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences gathered to honor faculty and former students who have distinguished themselves. This year, two alumni and one faculty member received the honor: Ron Gay, Lt. Col. Vanessa Hicks-Callaway, and Dr. Terry Thibodeaux.

With 100 people on hand, Mac Woodward–already on the Wall of Honor–served as host, introducing speakers and honorees, and keeping the event moving along. In fact, in its new mix-and-mingle format, the event was shortest on record at approximately an hour and a half.

President White was generous with her time and on hand, and Dean Li also said a few words, with both setting a tone of graciousness and warmth.

The CHSS Advisory Board was also on hand, with two of the Board members having a direct connection to LEAP Ambassadors: Blake Roach was a Junior Fellow, a forerunner to LEAP;

…and Lupe Cuellar was one of the first Sam Houston Austin Interns. Mac Woodward, of course, has been a long-time supporter of the students. It was great to see all of them.

Ron Gay graduated with bachelors and masters degrees in political science at SHSU. He worked for Scott & White for more than two decades, before going into financial advising, and he now owns Ron Gay Financial Services.

He served on the College Station City Council, is the President of the CHSS Advisory Board, and has served the Lions Club for more than 40 years.

Lt. Colonel Hicks-Callaway…

…who majored in political science, has served in the military (where she saw combat in two tours), served as a two-time Governor appointee, and has worked on the Veterans Commission, serving veterans. She thanked President White, Dean Li, the CHSS Advisory Board, civil rights leaders, and others who have helped her along the way–chief among them her husband, also an SHSU graduate.

Dr. Terry Thibodeaux has taught at SHSU for more than 35 years, and he continues to teach in an adjunct capacity and advisor, despite “retiring” in the last couple of years.

Thibodeaux served as an advisor in the Sam Center for many years, Interim Dean for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Chair of the Department of Communications, touching many lives along the way. One such student was Princess Spikes, who was featured in Thibodeaux’s video…

…and who also was on hand to see her Professor accept the award in person. After hearing the nice things she said about Professor Thibodeaux, we thanked her for speaking on his behalf, to which she responded, “I’d do anything for that man.”

Dr. Brandau…

…who succeeded him as Communications Department Chair, had similar notes of esteem, and she was also in the video and on hand, making the evening one of particular poignance.

The night was also a poignant one for us. We had recently attended a presentation by David Brooks, in which he argued that life fulfillment derived primarily from relationships with–and service to–others. Thus, it was particularly special to spend time with some of the people at SHSU whom we have developed relationships with, and to meet others who have spent much energy serving others.

CJ Real Talk Series: Emergency Management

The College of Criminal Justice works to connect alumni and students in meaningful ways, including their “Real Talk” program. This program brings alumni to campus to meet and speak with students, while highlighting the alum’s current job. Last week, the featured speaker was Adam Lee, who received his master’s degree in Homeland Security from SHSU, and he spoke about the ever-growing importance of emergency management and how students can enter that line of work. (You can watch the program here.)

Student Engagement & Retention Specialist Luke Putman Introduces SHSU Alum Adam Lee

Lee currently works for Memorial Hermann Health System as the Director of Emergency Management and Organizational Resilience but has experience with the public sector of security. His experience includes working as Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator for League City, TX (a position he held in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey) and for SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council (SETRAC). He held the latter position when COVID descended upon the world.

While both of these emergencies were, in some sense unprecedented, the larger lesson is that emergencies, almost by definition, occur unexpectedly. Even when such events are expected, they may have unexpected outcomes or arrive in an unexpected scale. So, planners and responders will always be needed, and that is especially true in Texas.

Currently, Lee works for Memorial Hermann, and in this role he has focused on a new type of threat: cyberattacks. When you think of the technology that goes into hospital, and the pressing and urgent role they play in keeping people alive, it takes little imagination to think of what a power outage or wide-scale hacking episode could do to a hospital.

Whatever one’s goals within the field of emergency planning and security, Lee suggests networking (such as attending University events!) and education. Unlike much in the world today, the field of emergency planning has a real need for generalists or, as he said, “knowledge a mile wide and an inch deep” and to be a lifelong learner.

Lee threw out the names of free and inexpensive learning tools for emergency preparedness such as PreparingTexas.org and the Center Domestic Preparedness to increase your education. CourseRa also has free (or low cost) emergency management as well, and of course CJ has many courses that will benefit a student looking to enter this field.

And, true to his own advice, he stayed around after–sharing his knowledge and networks with students.

Pre-Law Society Informational Meeting

Are you an SHSU student considering a career in law, but don’t know where to start? If so, SHSU’s Pre-Law Society (PLS) is an excellent start to your pre-law journey!

Prospective Pre-Law Students Discuss the Pre-Law Society

In advance of our first regular meeting, which is on February 21, 2024, officers held an informational for students considering careers in law. With a focus on what the Pre-Law Society does, we highlighted our meetings as well as the benefits of the organization.

VP of Marketing, Cinthia Villarreal, Discusses PLS Advantages

Regular Meetings: The Pre-Law Society meets officially once a month, typically featuring speakers such as defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges, special prosecutors, or law-school admissions representatives. For our first meeting February 21, we are having a mix, with SHSU alums returning to discuss their law-related careers. Guests include Quinn Kobrin (3L at University of New Hampshire Law), Victoria McClendon (first-year attorney in Houston area), and Blake Roach (former aide to Governor Abbott and currently an intergovernmental affairs specialist).

Special Events: The Pre-Law Society also participates in many special events, such as last week’s “How-to-get-into-Law School” discussion with the University of Tulsa College of Law; the upcoming Mock Law class, as well as various special guests, such as former Director of Counterintelligence for the CIA Jim Olson (March 27) and former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (March 29). Additionally, the PLS offers a Mock LSAT each semester, giving students the opportunity to assess where they are in their law-school preparation.

Walker County DA Will Durham Covers his Role as Prosecutor

When you throw in benefits such as the (1) access to LSAT Resources through the LEAP office, (2) a free t-shirt, (3) access to expanded professional networks, and (4) eligibility for pre-law scholarships, membership in the Pre-Law Society is a great value!

For more information about Pre-Law Society and events, please email Professor Yawn (mike.yawn@shsu.edu) and follow our Instagram @prelawsocietyshsu. Many thanks to all of the students who attended this informational session for Pre-Law Society, and we hope to see you at our first meeting February 21!

If you would like to join the Pre-Law Society, you can pay at CHSS 480 on Monday, February 19 or Wednesday February 21 between 10:30am-1:30pm. Or, you can pay between 5-6pm on February 21 in CHSS 120, just before our regular meeting. Payment can be accepted in the form of cash, check, cashier’s check, or money order.

Seeing Eye-to-Eye with David Brooks

by Cinthia Villarreal

After an insightful day with Megan Henson from the University of Tulsa College of Law, Michelle Cardenas, Christina Biello, Olivia Discon, and I headed to Houston to attend a World Affairs Council event with renowned author David Brooks, the writer of How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.

As we walked into the glamorous Royal Sonesta Hotel, we had the honor of meeting with former LEAP Ambassadors Quinn Korbin, Victoria McClendon, and Megan O’Flaherty.

Following an introduction by Executive Director Maryanne Maldonado…

…the program was officially kicked off by moderator Ronan O’Malley, Chief Program Officer at WAC.

When asked about his intentions behind writing this book, Brooks mentioned this was his attempt to teach people basic social skills. With measures of societal and individual connectedness at a low, with suicides high and climbing, and with disagreements seemingly both common and insurmountable, Brooks stressed the need for skills that will help people have meaningful, empathetic conversations with others.

One aspect of this, according to Brooks, is that there is no emphasis put on moral or character development. And while Brooks noted that he didn’t want to go back to the 1950s and “sometimes corny” way this was approached then, he does think there is a role for that in today’s society. Moreover, he notes that his own students describe themselves–in my new favorite phrase–as “morally inarticulate”.

As he notes in his book, he describes two types of people in society, which he calls illuminators, who make you feel heard and ask you questions because they are genuinely interested in your story; and diminishers, who usually stereotype people they talk to and are not interested in knowing other’s stories.

Brooks went on to describe how the same experience can affect each person differently since the act of seeing is not passive but an active, subjective construction of reality. Using another phrase that will stay with us, Brooks described “experience” not as “what happens to you but what you do with it.”

Throughout the event, Brooks proved his remarkable skills at managing the crowd. He truly captivated all of us by his amazing way of narrating and communicating his knowledge. He would have the whole room laughing one minute and tearing up the next.

A question from the audience urged Brooks to talk about what to say to someone living with depression. People usually make mistakes like telling the person what to do to “lift” the depression or reminding them of the good things they do have; however, this will only make them feel worse. Instead, he suggests approaching the person with a genuine heart by acknowledging the situation and asking about what they are feeling.

After the thought-provoking talk, we had the opportunity to meet Brooks and get our books signed and personalized.

We would like to thank the World Affairs Council for hosting yet another incredible event, the staff for their hard work, and David Brooks for such an inspirational talk.

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