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published August 26, 2008
Stony Olsen
Romney is a classic example of someone who took their legal degree in another direction. His real name is Willard Mitt Romney, and he was born in Detroit, Michigan, in March of 1947. His father was George W. Romney, former Michigan governor and also a presidential candidate. Romney's name Willard comes from a friend of his father, J. Willard Marriott, the hotel guy.
Romney got a perfect score on his SAT, and then served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That mission was in France for 30 months.
During that mission, Romney was declared dead after an auto accident by the policeman on the scene, but he recovered completely and successfully finished his mission.
Romney attended Brigham Young University and got a Bachelor of Arts degree. While at BYU, he graduated summa cum laude, and was valedictorian for the 1971 class.
It was also during his time at BYU that he married his wife, Ann Davies. They have had five children together. Ann was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998.
In 1975, Romney got a joint law degree and MBA from Harvard's law schools and business schools. He graduated cum laude from the law school and also graduated in the top 5% of his business class at the same time.
While many people who graduate with a law degree go into law, Romney chose differently. He promptly went into business, working for the Boston Consulting Group. He then became vice president of Bain & Company, and then spun off a firm called Bain Capital.
Romney has had a highly successful business career, making hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of his business acumen. He has earned a reputation as a turnaround man, rescuing several entities from severe issues.
Romney is most known, however, for his political work. He ran against Ted Kennedy in 1994 as a Republican, coming closer than anyone else at that point to unseating the long-serving senator. He has been the governor of Massachusetts, and also a serious contender for the 2008 Republican nomination for president, coming in second to the eventual winner, Senator John McCain. Now, he is widely regarded as one of the most likely candidates to be on the McCain ticket.
He is also known for his Olympic work, as he was called upon to rescue the 2002 Winter Olympics after a bribery scandal. True to his reputation, he ''saved the games'' and turned them into a great success.
Romney is a great example of how a law degree does not necessarily lead to a law career. Romney spent most of his life in business, utilizing his MBA degree. That said, his law degree has served him well as he has become involved in government work. It was Romney who managed to find an obscure Massachusetts law when the Supreme Court of Massachusetts legalized same sex marriage. That law prevented the state from becoming, as Romney put it, the ''Las Vegas'' of same sex marriage.
While of course controversial, this showed how his legal education has been equally useful to his political career, as this move helped endear him to conservatives nationwide.
Many students get joint degrees but are looked down upon by their fellow ''pure'' law students. Romney is a great example of how you can take a joint degree and use it to advance your career — whether in law or in your other field of study.
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