What did TEA do for me?  Honestly, it shaped and changed my whole life. I was never much of a student.  I went to college on athletic scholarships and did just enough work to remain eligible.  I never participated in classroom discussions.  When I applied to TEA, I could not name one country in East Africa.  I was married and we had a one year old son.  I was overwhelmed by the talents and intellect of the other members of my group (3c) at Columbia.  I doubted that I would be able to teach African kids anything.  

I arrived at Magamba Secondary School and found a new school with all new students.  There were no lesson plans.  The headmaster showed me my classroom and told me I was to teach history and geography to forms one, two and three.  That was my total indoctrination.  So I just did it.  I found that I had unrealized talent.  I could teach.  Once I realized that I could accomplish whatever I put my mind to, I never looked back.  

When my tour ended, I applied to law school even though my college grades were not good enough to allow me to be admitted and I could not take the LSAT exam.  Solely because of a wonderful reference letter from TEA, I was admitted on probation.  After the first semester, I was off probation and was given a scholarship.  I completed law school in twenty-seven months and went to Alaska as an assistant district attorney.  I discovered that I had a talent as a trial lawyer.  I tried twelve felony cases my first year out of law school.  I was elected president of the Alaska Bar Association when I was thirty-four years old, and I was appointed to the Superior Court bench at thirty-five. I retired from judging at forty-eight and joined a large law firm as a trial lawyer.  I retired completely at fifty-five.  Without my TEA experience, I would never have had such an interesting life.