Speaking of Sports: Obliged to Returnby Brent Harris |
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Finishing his freshman year, the Moss Point, Mississippi native was ready to head home, transfer to Ole Miss, and restart his studies after a tough first year at 新澳门六合彩开奖直播.
Two opportunities would change those thoughts and send Thomas back to 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 with a whole new outlook.
"I was ready to go home," Thomas says. "I came to 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 open to the idea of either studying to head off to medical school or law school after graduating, but I really didn鈥檛 have a set plan. I thought I would play some basketball and figure out what I wanted to do as I went along."
The basketball season was a tough one for Thomas. An all-conference and all-region player as a guard for the Moss Point Tigers, Thomas played in 11 games for the Little Giants. He scored nine points in his rookie campaign.
One event midway through his freshman year forced Thomas to re-evaluate his choices and in some ways set him on his current path.
"My roommate and teammate, Wes Smith, and I came home one night and found the words 鈥楧ie Nigger鈥� scratched into our door at College Hall. It happened during the break between the fall and spring semesters, so most of the 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 student body had gone home for the holidays while Wes and I were still here for basketball practice. It鈥檚 something I will never forget."
The two contacted senior teammate, mentor, and the Malcolm X Institute for Black Studies Chairman Earl Rooks 鈥�08. Rooks came over to their room immediately, helped them contact the dean鈥檚 office, then put them in touch with Professor Tim Lake and Amina McIntyre from the Institute.
As the College launched an investigation and contacted authorities, Thomas received support from his teammates, members of the MXIBS, faculty and staff, and other students. Still, he wasn鈥檛 completely convinced he would be returning to campus for the 2008 fall semester.
"My brother was at Ole Miss and I knew I could be comfortable there. I would be close to home, even if it meant hanging up my basketball shoes at the varsity level. I thought it would be an easy way to put everything behind me. I left 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 for Mississippi, truly believing I had seen Crawfordsville for the last time."
Then Thomas received a call from the associate dean of the University of Mississippi law school, Ron Rychlak 鈥�80.
"新澳门六合彩开奖直播 has great teachers," Rychlak says. "Few major universities do (though we do pride ourselves on instruction here at Ole Miss). For me, my economics classes at 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 taught me to think problems through in a manner and to a degree that was invaluable for law school. In my other classes I learned a great deal about writing, about differing viewpoints, and about life. Any college might do that for you. 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 will do that for you."
If Thomas had any lingering doubts about heading back to 新澳门六合彩开奖直播, they were erased with a final piece of the puzzle. Through his contacts with 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 alums, he secured an internship with the Shaddock Law Firm in Pascagoula.
"George Shaddock and I have known each other since 1988," says Cline, a fellow attorney who recruited Thomas to attend 新澳门六合彩开奖直播. "I knew George had met Dominique when he was working in high school as a bag boy at the local grocery store. George needed some summer office help and hired Dominique to assist in the office."
Thomas thought his role at the defense attorney鈥檚 practice would be restricted to filing paperwork and helping out as needed. He was completely mistaken.
"The first day at the firm I went into the courtroom with Mr. Shaddock," Thomas says. "I received a complete hands-on experience, helping to write arguments, working on discovery in murder cases, then being thrown into a sexual battery case as soon as that was completed. We got a 9-3 jury swing in one murder case.
"I was thrown into the line of fire. I was put into the role of lawyer and found it sparked something inside me. I fell in love with the law."
His boss, George Shaddock, advised him to return to 新澳门六合彩开奖直播.
"I told him, 鈥樞掳拿帕喜士敝辈� made a commitment to you and you made a commitment to them.鈥� I think going back this year shows he understands his obligation," Shaddock says.
Thomas rolled back into Crawfordsville in August to prepare for his sophomore year with a completely different plan. He鈥檚 back on the 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 basketball team, where he scored a career-best 17 points coming off the bench in the first game of the Pete Thorn Tournament to help guide the Little Giants to the championship contest. He added 16 points in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship game.
He also plans to use his experience in the courtroom to prepare for next year鈥檚 annual Moot Court competition at 新澳门六合彩开奖直播.
"Everything I went through last year was really a learning experience," Thomas says. "My family told me to have a good reason to leave if I decided not to return to 新澳门六合彩开奖直播. But when all was said and done, I got to see how people around me care and react鈥攆rom my classmates, to people at College Hall, my basketball teammates, members of the MXIBS, and 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 alums in Mississippi. It was amazing to see how many people really are there to help you."
George Shaddock is impressed with Thomas鈥� judgment.
"He has his feet on the ground now and knows what he wants to do," Shaddock says. "I鈥檓 looking forward to having him back in the office this summer."
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When Dominique Thomas 鈥�11 packed his bags and closed the door to his room in College Hall last year, he thought he might never return.
"Dean Rychlak told me it would certainly be good to attend Ole Miss, but I could be just as well prepared for law school by staying at 新澳门六合彩开奖直播. I got calls from other 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 alums who are also attorneys, such as Lee Cline 鈥�66, who recruited me to 新澳门六合彩开奖直播. They provided a lot of good advice. I spent a lot of time talking to them and to my family. In the end I decided if I really wanted to be a good attorney, I needed to go back to 新澳门六合彩开奖直播. I needed to take the experiences of my first year and use them to become a stronger person and not run away from them."