Maddie Gehling, Bradley Scout
The Communications Department brought Bradley alumnus Jeffrey Bogart to share his experiences as a lawyer and give students advice.
Bogart, a speech major from the class of 1969, has practiced international law, worked with U.S. presidents and represented various celebrities and athletes from his offices in Atlanta, Georgia. He took the chance Tuesday evening to reminisce with Bradley students about his time on campus and advise students about spending their time in college to the fullest.
Bogart shared memories of the activities he was involved with including Student Senate, tennis, orchestra and The Scout. He said he believes it is important to recognize the chances students are given for their futures while still at college.
“Bradley is … a special place,” Bogart said. “When I talked about opportunity, I ask you to look inside yourselves. This is a very special window that will never appear again, ever. Here, you can try, you can experiment, you can grow. You don’t have to know exactly what you want to be. It helps, but you don’t have to know. You can grow into it, you can make a wrong turn and then make a right turn, and that’s university.”
Bogart also spoke about the struggles he encountered when trying to find a job he was passionate about after graduating from University of Toledo Law School.
“I have an acceptance from the U.S. [Department of Justice honor’s program], I’m here,” Bogart said regarding a job interview he had taken during President Nixon’s administration. “But the interviewer told me, ‘You will never receive an offer. You are not a Republican; you don’t have a letter in your file from anyone with political clout, not even your mother. You’d better go find a job.’ I graduated six months early from law school to find out I had no job.”
Monica Velazquez, a senior music and journalism double major, said she believes it can sometimes be difficult to find the right opportunities to achieve success, but Bogart had good advice.
“I think [Bogart] was really encouraging, definitely,” Velazquez said. “He’s a very good speaker, of course, and it was nice to see someone so nostalgic about college and to have so much pride in something and to bring it out into the field.”
Senior English and philosophy double major Jenny Cundiff, who plans to attend law school to pursue a career in environmental law, said she thought Bogart had some important advice.
“I think that Mr. Bogart’s point about stepping outside of ones comfort zone is a valid point because it creates more well-rounded students that are more prepared to enter the real world upon graduation,” Cundiff said. “I also think that his advice about choosing a law school was particularly helpful for many of the pre-law students in the audience.”
However, Bogart advised students not to become discouraged if they are faced with situations like his just out of law school.
“Sometimes in life, adversity makes you a better person,” Bogart said. “I hope that when your four years are over, and Bradley is behind you, and your future is in front of you, you can say to yourself, ‘I pushed myself where I wouldn’t go before, and I loved my university.’”
Reprinted with permission Bradley Scout, January 29, 2016
