MORGANTOWN — Councilor or counselor — why choose?
Ryan Wallace, Morgantown City Council’s 3rd Ward representative, was among the 90 or so graduates to take the Creative Arts Center stage Friday morning for the WVU College of Law 2018 Commencement.
Wallace, who was elected to city council in April 2017, said he and his family are ready to stop juggling family time, law school and public office.
“It’s just been hard to prioritize my time. I love staying involved, but there’s only so much you can do in any one day. You end up feeling stretched, and your family does too,” Wallace said. “My wife and kids are going to be happy to see me.”
Family, it seemed, ended up being a bit of a theme on Friday.
Keynote speaker and 2018 WVU Law Professor of the Year, Jennifer Oliva, spoke of the commitment her family made to her success — success that began as a Rhodes and Truman Scholar at the United States Military Academy at West Point and saw her rise to captain and company commander in the U.S. Army.
Oliva, an associate professor of law and pubic health at WVU and one of four national Bellow Scholars, spoke of the constant worry of commanding troops in a combat zone, and how perception isn’t always reality.
“I’ve heard people up at the law school talk about me being a badass from West Point,” Oliva said, recalling the day her father, an Italian immigrant, dropped her off for basic training. “I want you guys to know today that not only am I not a badass, I was and am a very small person from a very small place who was and is riddled with self-doubt.”
And while Oliva was quick to throw off the tough, no-nonsense reputation, others were willing to at least try it on.
“Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer — great job. And by the way, I am a badass,” WVU President E. Gordon Gee said, drawing big laughs. “That’s why I’ve had to change jobs so many times.”
