Yesterday the Law School’s own Professor Larry EchoHawk spoke at the University Devotional. I attended with my colleague, David Armond. As Professor EchoHawk spoke about his life’s journey, I was struck by the enormity of the odds he overcame in achieving his many accomplishments.
While he mentioned several things that contributed to his success in the face of these odds, the one that stood out to me was the encouragement and advice of a church leader. This man took a special interest in a young Prof. EchoHawk, telling him he could do anything he wanted in life if he worked at it. Prof. EchoHawk took this to heart and became an outstanding football player, which led to an opportunity to get a college degree – something his father and grandfather had not achieved. This success bred further degrees and accomplishments, including his becoming the first Native American state attorney general.
While the results won’t likely be identical, there are certainly people each one of us can reach out to and influence for good. I thank Prof. EchoHawk for reminding me of that.
For a more detailed summary of Prof. EchoHawk’s remarks see the following news release.