By Jaci Schneider, Opinion Editor
Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson of the Texas Supreme Court and his wife, Rhonda Lewis Jefferson, visited campus Monday.
Chief Justice Jefferson spoke in Chapel, met with faculty and community members in a luncheon and met with Lynay on Monday afternoon.
Rhonda Jefferson graduated from ACU in 1988, so when Jefferson was appointed to chief justice, Dr. Gary McCaleb, vice president of the university, invited him to visit campus.
“It’s just an opportunity for people here in Abilene to get to know him and hear from him and get to see that he has a connection with ACU,” McCaleb said.
Jefferson said he’s glad to talk with students and people in the Abilene community.
“I love visiting with students just to let them know of the possibilities with their lives,” Jefferson said. “I’m no different from any of them. If you prepare yourself, you’ll be given the opportunity to succeed.”
Wallace and Rhonda Jefferson said they never thought they would end up where they are today.
“You never imagine your life like this,” Rhonda Jefferson said. “God has a plan for your life. I’m just so grateful.”
Wallace Jefferson graduated from James Madison College at Michigan State University and from the University of Texas School of Law. He began his own law firm in San Antonio before Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to the Texas Supreme Court in 2001.
In Chapel he spoke about his great-great-great-grandfather, Shedrick Willis, who was a slave owned by a district court judge in Waco. As the first black person to serve as chief over the Texas Supreme Court, Jefferson said the story shows the strides our nation has taken.
“It’s a great story for our state and the nation in that in a very short span of time in world history, you can go from slave to leader of the third branch of government in the state of Texas,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson said he wants students to know that the decisions they make today can affect the rest of their lives. He addressed Lynay on strategies for success in life.
“It’s nothing beyond the basics,” he said. “Study hard, get the best grades possible, don’t be satisfied with mediocre results.
“It begins to open doors down the road and gives you options.”
