Judge, Toledo Municipal Court

After graduating from Hillsdale, I attended the University of Toledo College of Law, earning a J.D. in 1991. From 1991-2005, I worked as a litigation attorney for Eastman & Smith, Ltd. In February 2005, I became a Judgefor the Toledo Municipal Court. During my career as an attorney, I tried more than 25 jury trials, many more bench trials and argued more than 25 oral arguments in state and federal courts of appeal. I have also drafted briefs to the Ohio and United States Supreme Courts. I have been active in the community by providing free legal services through the Toledo Bar Association pro bono, Law Tuesday and Channel 11 Call for Action programs. I have served many charities including Aurora Gonzalez Community Center, United Way Young Leaders Council, American Red Cross as a Blood Drive Chair and am the Block Captain for my local Block Watch. I have been active in the Republican Party, including working on both campaigns for President Bush, and I have run four of my own campaigns. I married my wife Kathy on September 20, 2003.

I learned how to read, write, understand and learn. The subject matter I learned at Hillsdale was interesting and even relevant from time to time. However, my college courses didn’t apply in law school, didn’t apply as an attorney and don’t directly apply as a Judge. Each time I moved on in my life after Hillsdale College, I had to learn everything anew. My training at Hillsdale College has made that learning process quicker and much more successful at every stage.

Your college years are important formative years that will affect your personality, beliefs and values for the rest of your life. Pick a school that has an administration, faculty and student body that reflects your own values. It is important to be comfortable in your college surroundings and with the people that will be your colleagues for the next four years and your friends for the rest of your life. Choose a major and classes that you enjoy. In my opinion, the actual subject is not that important. Whatever job you get after college or whatever you choose to do after college will require that you learn new subjects that no college course can teach you. Focus on learning how to learn and don’t get hung up on the actual subject matter.

I chose Hillsdale College for the reasons identified in my advice above. I was fortunate to have taken my own advice before I knew it was my advice. At my first visit to Hillsdale College, I knew immediately I was in a college atmosphere different from anything else I had seen. The students were serious about becoming fully developed citizens and community leaders. I also noticed immediately that the students were serious about living life, enjoying life and having fun even while working hard and conscientiously.

I learned how to study, learn and analyze. I learned the benefit of studying and understanding the views of others with whom I did not agree. I also learned how to communicate effectively through written and spoken words. I meet a lot of people much smarter than me who are not as successful as I have been because they never learned to communicate.

I can’t identify a specific highlight of my Hillsdale College experience. One item I can identify is the reputation of Hillsdale College. For such a small school in the Midwest, Hillsdale has a giant reputation, and that reputation is universally good. My association with Hillsdale College has opened so many doors for me and allowed me so many introductions, I would have to write a book to explain it all. I can truly say that I would not be in the position I am in today if I were not a Hillsdale College alum. That is in part because of the life training I received at Hillsdale and in part due to the breaks I’ve received due to the reputation of my alma mater.

timandkathy@buckeye-express.com