Bo Patton- Robert Morris Graduate of 2012

Q: What piece of life advice/token would you give someone in their 20’s based on what has happened to you in your life?
A: ”First piece of advice I would give to them is to number 1 build a relationship with Jesus Christ, number 2 network whether your in college whether your in a career field or whether your in the military get to know people and build positive relationships and, number 3 educated yourself as much as possible build as little debt as you can.”

Q: How and why did you choose to pursue a career in education and decide that college was the best option for you?
A: ”Originally I did not choose a career in education. My degree is in business. I didn’t choose education. God ordained me to be in education so I’ve been teaching now for 8 years. I got a transition in teaching license that’s why I’m licensed to teach in business. For me college was the best option because I always wanted more education. I always wanted to run my own business so to get a business degree was the best choice for me and also I received a scholarship to play basketball at the University. Combining sports or combining athletics and education was important for me to further my education and eventually I do want to go back and finish my masters and get a doctorate degree.

Q: What challenges Involving love, career, and day to day life do you feel like are the hardest to overcome and why?
A: ”Umm the hardest thing when it comes to love to overcome is forgiveness but it’s something that’s vitally important if you don’t forgive then you can’t be forgiven. In a career I think it’s just the daily grind of trying to make an impact in the lives of students even when it seems like they don’t care or they’re not retaining the information you’re trying to give them. And then just in life staying even kill life has its ups and downs but not going with the ups and downs of life but staying content and staying level headed”

Q: What is something you wish you would’ve known before entering your 20’s?
A: ”I wish I would’ve known that financial literacy is very important, so don’t get into debt, don’t get a bunch of credit cards, and saving finances if possible is important for rainy days”

Q: If you could do it all over again would you do anything differently and if so what would it be?
A: ”I wouldn’t do anything differently because I think your path is your path. The only thing I would do more of is listen to the people who were trying to give me the advice, further build my relationship with Jesus Christ, and build those positive relationships with people as much as possible.”

Q: Are you happy with where you are currently at and do you always plan to stay in this career?
A: ”Absolutely 150% happy with where I’m at. I know God has a purpose for me where I am. And I can’t say where I’m going to be in the next couple of years but I’m trying to follow God’s will for my life.”

Q: For highschool graduates choosing to go to college, what advice would you give them?
A: ”Make sure you’re organized and have a study plan. Again the networking piece is very important, it’s not always what you know but who you know. Have fun and enjoy it after those 3 or 4 years are over and you enter the quote on quote real world build those long lasting relationships with friends,professors, staff, people on campus, and people in your college town. Get into some internships job shadowing, get to know as much about your future career field as you can as possible, so you can make a decision about your career. And the most important thing is to be a light on campus, be a positive light, help people in need, be there for people in need and let your light shine.”