Troop Weblog

June Trooper of the Month-Michelle

Michelle has been selected as June’s Trooper of the Month. There were lots of nominations, but Michelle’s accomplishments were so great no one else really had a chance. In a private ceremony this evening Toby (May-Trooper of the Month) will pass on the award.

The long road of applying to Law Schools has come to a very happy ending.

Michelle started down this road when she took the LSAT a few years ago and did extremely well. Not wanting to go to school until I was out of the Army, so that we would not be separated, she decided to wait to apply. After selecting a list of schools from the west to east coast, collecting transcripts and letters of recommendation, and writing personal statements she sent out applications this past fall. The hardest part of the process turned out to be the long, long wait.

Finally, when we had all the results (not before I left though) we were very pleased to have a great list of schools from all over the country to choose from. This was my favorite part, because while Michelle loves to make lists, I live for Microsoft Excel. I created spreadsheets to compare the attributes, formulas to weight different factors, and I even made bar graphs! In the end we narrowed it down to 4 Schools in NYC, Virginia, and California.

We put a great deal of thought into which school to choose. Location was a big factor-California is even further away from home than Texas! But, I had promised Michelle years ago that when we got out of the Army we would go wherever she wanted to for Law School. So we focused on the programs the schools had to offer and the teaching environment. We were very excited when one of the schools seemed to be a perfect fit; the scholastic environment, the program, the location, the reputation, everything at Washington and Lee seemed to call to us.

Washington and Lee University is in Lexington, Virginia. The University was founded in 1749 as Augusta Academy. In 1776 they changed the name to Liberty hall. It was renamed to Washington College after President George Washington endowed it with what was then the largest gift to a private educational institution in America. The Lexington Law School became affiliated with the college in 1866 while Robert E. Lee was the college’s president. After Lee’s death the school was again renamed Washington and Lee University. The School of Law is the smallest of the nationally recognized law schools, and its faculty-student ratio is one of the richest in the nation. The School of Law has always chosen to remain small. Michelle’s entering class will be around 120 students.

The town of Lexington is a picturesque college town nestled in Shenandoah Valley, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lexington's entire downtown is listed on the State and National register of Historic Places. Nature lovers and history buffs are warned that if you come and visit, you may never want to leave. We’re both very excited to be leaving Texas for such a different, more familiar, part of the country. I’m sure absence will make the heart grow fond, but I likewise suspect trips back to Texas will be enough to satisfy our longings for all things western.

What a relief it was to have made a decision. Michelle would defer for one year and start in the fall of 2005 after I got out of the Army and we’d spent two months backpacking in Europe. The reasoning behind deferring was that it looked as though I might only be in Iraq for a couple of months, four at the most. What were we thinking?

From the moment I landed at Baghdad International Airport it became increasingly evident that I was not going home any time soon. With the realization that we would be apart for the next nine to twelve months it no longer made sense for Michelle to defer law school. Sadly, Europe will have to wait a few years.

So now Michelle is franticly tying up all her cases at work, fixing up the house, arranging for the movers to come and pack up all our household goods, interviewing realtors in Killeen to sell our house, looking for rentals in Lexington, preparing for law school and dealing with two emotionally unstable dogs all on her own.

That’s not true at all though—she’s certainly not all alone. I would like to publicly thank Lisa and Matt who adopted Michelle and I into their family even before I left. You guys have been great, and we couldn’t be more thankful for your friendship. Both Michelle and I would have suffered from massive nervous breakdowns if it were not for you and Tyler and your folks. We thought we were going to have a whole year until we had to say farewell (we never say goodbye in the Army) to our Killeen and Army friends. This change of plans has taken us all by surprise. You’ll have to come to Lexington and visit. Wherever we live you’ll always be welcome in our home, at our table, and around the chiminea.

I’d also like to thank everyone who has offered to help Michelle with the packing, moving, and setting up the new house. The good news is it looks as though the Army is going to move all our household goods for us. There was some doubt as to whether they would do so six months before I had orders to separate from the Army. So all the big pieces will be taken care of. Michelle will just have to move some of her stuff and the pups on her own. When she gets to Lexington she could sure use some help on that end though.

So, for all the years of hard work in school, months of waiting, and taking the plunge into Law School, not to mention all the work she has to keep her busy this month, Michelle is the June Trooper of the Month.

I’m so proud of you babe!
Daniel

Posted by Daniel at June 1, 2004 03:10 PM