TELL ME A STORY By: Jarrod D. Blue
Strategic Partnerships Agreement Administrator UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
PARENTAL QUESTIONS CAN SERVE AS A COMPASS Last year, I was asked to serve on a panel through the Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) to discuss my career with current law students who may have an interest in working in government contract law. In preparation for the panel discussion, I began to think about the different twists and turns that my career has taken, and it has been the unexpected changes that have made my career journey exciting! Through the twists and turns, two questions have helped guide me along the journey: (1) Do you see yourself waking up in the morning doing this work?, and (2) Did you pray about it? My lead-up to law school was not a traditional one. As many incoming law students prepare for the fall semester and watch the classics: The Paper Chase and Legally Blonde, I was preparing for interviews with a Fortune 500 Company. Even though I had applied to law school and accepted an offer to attend the University of Tennessee College of Law, I was not 100% certain that I wanted to pursue a legal career. During the spring and summer before law school, I spent countless time interviewing, completing company behavioral assessments, and preparing presentations for a corporate management program. After experiencing extensive interviews, a job offer was made a few weeks before starting law school.
As I have applied for new opportunities, I patiently wait for even more opportunities to come my way. Words of my mother often echo in my mind and heart. “Have you prayed about it? My faith is very important to me, and it is my faith that has helped me stand when I have been knocked down and when others have considered me down for the count. It has been my faith in God that has helped me to weather the unexpected twists and turns of my career journey and assures me that whatever may come along my way that everything will be fine. Many would say that I am still in the early years of my career, and I would agree. Thus, I am aware that there are many more exciting opportunities on my career journey, but I am grateful for the guidance that my parents have provided and my faith in God that will make the journey ahead exciting! I challenge you to think about what makes up your internal compass, as I am sure it will help you navigate the next career twist that presents itself.
I was excited about the job opportunity and the many perks of the job, but I was not sure if I wanted to accept the offer. I discussed the job and law school with my parents, and my father asked me the question: When you wake up in the morning do you see yourself working at this company or see yourself being an attorney? It was through this question and subtle advice to look beyond the here and now that it became clear that going to law school was the path I needed to pursue. I could see myself putting on professional dress clothes every morning and discussing agreements with clients. My father’s question made me think about why I had initially begun my pursuit of going to law school, which was to be a positive force of influence to help others and make a difference. My father’s guidance to visualize myself has served me well thus far in my career as I have grappled with new opportunities and obstacles. Where I visualize myself in the morning has aided in my determination of the summer clerkships to pursue and jobs to accept along my career journey. It is through these visualizations that I have been able to find joy in the opportunities that life has presented. Life can present many twists and turns some are expected and others are unexpected. After law school, I thought that my career would find me working at a law firm, but unexpectedly, life presented the opportunity to work in the field of federal government contracting. I have spent the last six-plus years working with domestic and foreign companies and universities to explore and develop legal agreements for the development of exciting research efforts. I certainly did not wake up one morning and anticipate that I would be working in the federal contracts field, but one opportunity led to another opportunity and more. June 2022
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