Justice Thomas on the “Building Blocks” for a Career

November 1st, 2013

Some wise words from CT:

Each step of his career served as a “building block” for the next thing, Thomas said, directly addressing his student audience. “There are little things that you pick up along the way – how you conduct yourself, how you do your job, how you deal with other people, how you treat people.  I have been places with people who I would otherwise respect, and I watch what they do when they pass one of the cleaning people, or the [servers] at the tables.  Are they officious, or do they treat them as they would like to be treated?  All those things you can learn in any job,” he said.

Treating others the way he would like to be treated is an approach he takes even in crafting his judicial opinions, he said, in response to Levi’s observation that his opinions and dissents are always respectful in tone.