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By Jacob Abrahamson, Class of 2017
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| Jacob Abrahamson Class of 2017 |
In my time at UofL, I have been lucky to be able to meet some individuals who I grew up thinking only existed on CNN like Samantha Power, John Lewis, Mitch McConnell, and Joe Biden. Thanks to the Political Science department, I was able to add a Supreme Court Justice to that list: Samuel Alito.
I think it’s important to not get too caught up in just meeting famous people and cross them off your list, because it could become superficial. However, when you are nerdy enough about politics, history, and law, sometimes it is just plain cool to meet and talk to such important figures. Justice Alito was no exception. Ever since taking constitutional law my freshman year, I have been very interested in the Supreme Court and through moot court have been able to explore even more into constitutional arguments, so meeting a Justice was a dream come true.
I noticed a few things about him that taught me about his type of leadership:
For one, he lacked the sense of importance that comes along with every politician I’ve met, probably because he has never been in political office. There is a certain level of ego, good or bad, required of a politician that Alito seemed to lack. There was no grand entrance or expectation of complete deference from everyone in the room. This is a guy who could have commanded such a situation if he chose, but instead walked in and asked where the coffee was because he isn’t a morning person. The way Alito carried himself told everyone around him that despite his important job, he was not more special than them. This was refreshing from a leader.
Going hand in hand with what was his willingness to answer questions. He stood with the UofL group for around for a good chunk of the meet and greet event and answered all of our questions, which were mostly about his law clerks and how he handled his caseload, which was an interesting look at the inside operations of the Court. The coolest part of it was that we were having a casual conversation about the Supreme Court of the United States with one of the Justices. I can say that it is very difficult asking a good question to a person that asks questions for a living during oral arguments.
The last thing I learned, which I already knew a little bit, was that Justice Alito is brilliant. Agree with them or not, it takes a certain level of intellect to become a Supreme Court Justice, and getting to hear their perspectives on legal issues is enlightening. It’s really easy to criticize Justices on the surface-level for their opinions, but I personally enjoy learning of the subtleties of what they do in their day-to-day jobs and the brainpower it takes to achieve them.
Mostly, I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve been provided at UofL to have experiences like this.
Jacob Abrahamson is a junior McConnell Scholar studying history and political science.