John Tures | Giving Others Ample Opportunities to Succeed

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My Journey to #AchieveMore

Years ago, I left being a defense contractor, with more money and the excitement of working in Washington DC, for a small liberal arts college in rural Georgia. And I've never regretted it once. I try to use my classes in international politics, war, terrorism and economics to help students experience the type of work and research I used to do in our nation's capital. Sure it involves a lot a writing, statistics, researching data, and presentations. But it also involves simulations, role playing games, and discussions as well, so I don't feel as though I've missed the kind of work I used to do for agencies and departments in our government. The person who most motivated me sadly isn't alive anymore. He committed suicide in 2017, a big blow to the field of political science. His name was Will Moore. Though he's not in my life anymore, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere in graduate school at FSU without him. He and the professors at Florida State University gave me all the advice and opportunities to succeed. Without them, I wouldn't be a professor today. Will Moore could be pretty hard on himself, and he took criticism a little too closely to his heart. but I believe he knew exactly how grateful most others students and I were for him. A year before he died, he was showing my family my dissertation in his office, having a lunch, and saying how much he appreciated the hard work I did on my graduate work. It helped me get through the tragedy of the event, and remember how much he meant to me. I hope to be the kind of professor for my students that Will Moore was for me. After graduation, I asked how I could properly thank him. "Pass it on," he replied. "Do the same for your students." Each day, I've tried to do that at LaGrange College, give 100%, and take what I've learned to help students succeed at the next level, whether it's mastering research methods, publishing an article in the newspaper or in the journal based on a data collection or statistical test, taking the students to an academic conference to have them present their own papers, or run a simulation either in class or for a local high school. In our annual reports, I even judge our program based on what our students accomplish in class. And it's not just the law and graduate degrees they earn, the jobs they get, or the money that they make that has me proud. It's that nearly all are heavily involved in service to their community, acting as foster parents, big brothers and big sisters, community organizers, or assisting with the church and community. It's the best measure of knowing whether you've made a real difference as a professor, and my proudest moments.

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