{"id":905,"date":"2019-01-01T00:00:22","date_gmt":"2019-01-01T00:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/?p=905"},"modified":"2020-04-21T23:52:43","modified_gmt":"2020-04-21T23:52:43","slug":"whiteman20190101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/2019\/01\/01\/whiteman20190101\/","title":{"rendered":"John Whiteman"},"content":{"rendered":"
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John T.M. Whiteman (2018)<\/p><\/div>\n

John T. M. Whiteman practices in the areas of bankruptcy, entrepreneurial, and tax law.\u00a0 He is currently Legal Counsel for the Missouri Department of Revenue<\/a>. In his first year with the Department, John received special recognition from the General Counsel for his exceptional work. John has been crucial to the Department’s Summer Legal Internship Program. Prior to joining the Department, John worked with entrepreneurs in the mid-Missouri region. He earned his Juris Doctor and Tax Planning Concentration, with honors, from the University of Missouri School of Law in Columbia, MO. While at Mizzou Law, John was active in student leadership, journal, and pro-bono activities.<\/p>\n

What year did you graduate and what was your concentration?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I graduated in 2013 with a concentration in Public Communication<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What extra-\/co-curricular activities did you do?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I participated in Phi Mu Alpha<\/a> Sinfonia, Toastmasters International<\/a>, Marching Statesmen Band<\/a>, and Concert Band<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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John (back, left) in a Phi Mu Alpha family photo (2012).<\/p><\/div>\n

Did you go to grad school? If so, where?\u00a0 Was it immediately after you left Truman or did you wait?\u00a0 Why?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes.\u00a0 I went to the University of Missouri School of Law immediately after Truman.\u00a0 Law school was always the goal, so I thought, “why wait?”<\/p>\n

What was your first job after graduation?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

After graduating from Truman I went straight into law school at the University of Missouri. After passing the Uniform Bar Exam, my first job was Legal Counsel for the Missouri Department of Revenue<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What work do you do\/What are you doing now?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I manage a caseload of Ch. 11, 12, 15, and 9 bankruptcies in which the department is a creditor. Additionally, I help to organize and supervise the Department\u2019s Summer Legal Internship Program. A lot of my time is spent researching, advising, and consulting with other Department employees on internal and external policy matters.<\/p>\n

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John & his partner Kelsey at the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival (2018).<\/p><\/div>\n

How has your Liberal Arts\/COMM education helped you?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Critical thinking and analysis, interpersonal communication, inductive and deductive reasoning, and ethical persuasion techniques are just some of the skills that I developed during my time at Truman.\u00a0 All of which I find myself drawing upon on any given day.<\/p>\n

Which class did you dislike at the time you took it, but now you\u2019re grateful you took it?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Most of the LAS classes, but I\u2019ll pick on World Religions.\u00a0 I believed the class would be a waste of time and I was only taking it to check the box for graduation.\u00a0 While I did not appreciate it at the time, the way the professor taught the class taught me how to reserve my personal bias\/prejudice while critically evaluating a subject.\u00a0 Additionally, the exposure to other cultures gave me more empathy and understanding for people with different beliefs than me.<\/p>\n

What was your greatest accomplishment at Truman?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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John at Phi Mu Alpha’s annual piano smash fundraiser (2011).<\/p><\/div>\n

Graduating (ha, ha).\u00a0 Second to that would be founding the Truman chapter of Toastmasters International<\/a>. Toastmasters International is a social organization that focuses on improving public speaking and leadership skills in its members.<\/p>\n

Why is Truman a good place for a student to study?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The culture of academic excellence at Truman appeals to students who are dedicated to their goals.\u00a0 That dedication means that Truman students know how to work when it is time to work, and play when it is time to play.\u00a0 Being around other students who understand work time vs. play time means there are less distractions and more motivation to keep you focus on your studies and goals.<\/p>\n

What would you say a COMM student should absolutely<\/u> do while at Truman?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Go to as many career\/networking events as you can.\u00a0 There are so many job opportunities available to people with COMM degrees that it can be confusing.\u00a0 I think the best way to learn about what you want to do is to talk with practitioners who are actively doing that thing.\u00a0 Even if you absolutely know what you are going to do, talk to some practitioners to verify that is the right occupation for you.<\/p>\n

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John (right) & friends graduating from law school (2016).<\/p><\/div>\n

What advice would you give someone who wants to go into the same line of work as you?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be in a rush to go to law school. Working at a law firm, or the public sector, for a few years will give you skills and perspective that will make law school easier when you do go. Feel free to reach out to me if you are thinking about a legal career and have some questions.\u00a0 Professor Elizabeth Wiles<\/a>, in Truman\u2019s Justice Systems Program, would also be a great person to talk to.<\/p>\n

What do you miss most about campus\/Kirksville?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Being able to walk, almost, everywhere.\u00a0 Living on the edge of Columbia and working in Jefferson City means I spend a lot of time in my car. While it was nice to have the freedom that comes with a car at Truman, it is by no means needed.<\/p>\n

If you could come back to Truman and teach a class for a semester, what would be its title and what would it be about?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Daily Negotiations.\u00a0 It would use economics, persuasion theory, interpersonal communication, and alternative dispute resolution to teach students how to identify the value in a transactions and maximize the transactions efficiency.<\/p>\n

If you want to learn more about John’s story or about the Department of Communication, contact us!<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John T. M. Whiteman practices in the areas of bankruptcy, entrepreneurial, and tax law.\u00a0 He is currently Legal Counsel for the Missouri Department of Revenue. In his first year with the Department, John received special recognition from the General Counsel for his exceptional work. John has been crucial to the Department’s Summer Legal Internship Program. … Read More →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":497,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50608],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-watdn"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/497"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=905"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1871,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905\/revisions\/1871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}