In the effort to learn and make sense of the world, I, personally, believe that we cannot just read, study, and memorize theories without some form of application. It is not enough to talk about what successful people look like; so, on March 25, 2016, the Intro to Courts and Substantive Criminal Law students were introduced to Judicial Court Commissioner Mr. Barry Phillips. On any given day, you can find Commissioner Phillips presiding over cases in room 146 for preliminary hearings at the Milwaukee County Court House. Walking from the safety building, quizzing the cohort before making their acquaintance with him, I asked the students, “What is Preliminary Court?” One DYF student candidly replied, “It’s the trial before the trial.” Another student keeping the group’s pace shared, “It’s also where the Commissioner determines whether there is enough evidence to force the defendant to stand trial. In doing so, the use of “probable cause” legal standard is used.”
Feeling the confidence of students being informed, DYF students were escorted to Commissioner Phillips office where he shared his nuggets of justice, practice, and life lessons. What I appreciated most was Commissioner Phillips ability to inform college scholars that success is intentional; the ingredients of success include passion, talent, and hard work.
Having the ability to work with such a prestigious figure, the past ten years, I thank Commissioner Phillips, for sharing his personal story. It’s not easy sharing the decisions we make to grow and learn from to be leaders, today. It was humbling for students, who already work hard, to hear Commissioner Phillips speak on the correlation between effort and reward as well as bad decisions and good decisions. By allowing students to see theories in practice, at the courthouse, and allowing them to learn from a leader, from their community, I feel, they received the learning push to assert themselves through education. As an educator and criminal justice professional, I feel confident in this practice to help each individual student see how they can shape the world, they desire, through their education and service.
Writer:
Shannon L.
Adjunct Instructor
Editor, A.C.
Feeling the confidence of students being informed, DYF students were escorted to Commissioner Phillips office where he shared his nuggets of justice, practice, and life lessons. What I appreciated most was Commissioner Phillips ability to inform college scholars that success is intentional; the ingredients of success include passion, talent, and hard work.
Having the ability to work with such a prestigious figure, the past ten years, I thank Commissioner Phillips, for sharing his personal story. It’s not easy sharing the decisions we make to grow and learn from to be leaders, today. It was humbling for students, who already work hard, to hear Commissioner Phillips speak on the correlation between effort and reward as well as bad decisions and good decisions. By allowing students to see theories in practice, at the courthouse, and allowing them to learn from a leader, from their community, I feel, they received the learning push to assert themselves through education. As an educator and criminal justice professional, I feel confident in this practice to help each individual student see how they can shape the world, they desire, through their education and service.
Writer:
Shannon L.
Adjunct Instructor
Editor, A.C.
RSS Feed
