Phillip and Jon Lear are two brothers who are alumni of the Honors College as well as current board members on the Honors College’s National Honors Advisory Board. Their life experiences have had many parallels as students at the University of Utah and eventual co-founders of a successful law firm, Lear & Lear P.L.L.C. While many of their experiences were shared, each of their professional journeys was uniquely their own.
Phillip first began looking ahead to his professional goals while taking a 9th grade High School career aptitude test. The test recommended that Phillip consider becoming a lawyer or a history professor. Initially, he opted for academia, earning an Honors Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in German at the University of Utah with a view to obtaining a doctorate and teaching history at the college level. After graduating he served in the Navy during the Vietnam War Era. While undergoing his officer candidate summer training at the U.S. Naval Academy, Phillip was selected as a student company officer after his company officer learned that he was an Honors College student, among other reasons.
Phillip afterward began law school at the University of Utah with a new vision to become a lawyer instead of a history professor. Inspired by an article highlighting the oversaturation of history professor positions, he saw law school as a promising path with more opportunities. Following his first year of law school he clerked for a mineral and natural resources law firm, solidifying his decision to pursue a career in mineral development and extraction law, a field he has worked in for over 40 years.
Jon on the other hand followed a less traditional career path, identifying himself as a “career anarchist”, rejecting the idea of a specific career, believing it to be too restrictive and confining. His professional journey has instead been guided by discovering the things he enjoyed doing and then figuring out a way to make them happen.
After graduating from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts in History, it occurred to Jon that he would need to have some kind of professional or advanced degree to have the reputation and influence to take command of his professional pursuits. He attended and graduated from law school at the University of Utah. Immediately after graduating, Jon was certain that he didn’t want to practice law formally and went on to work in a variety of spaces.
Jon spent a decade helping to develop the Sundance Institute from its very beginnings. He then went on to a corollary environmental institute negotiating oil and gas issues offshore Alaska as well as working on energy, water and land ethics issues with the Navajo Tribe, by trying to help people to come together to understand each other both economically and culturally.
His career ironically ended up in a law firm, Lear and Lear, working alongside his brother Phillip, named after the two of them, which is the very last place he expected to be. Although his career path has been circuitous, looking back, it all makes sense. Jon can confidently say that while there have been difficult and sometimes uncomfortable issues to resolve, there has never been a week where he has woken up and not been excited about what he was going to do, and that to him is what has made his professional life so fulfilling.
Both Phillip and Jon found the Honors College to be a transformative experience that significantly prepared them for their professional careers. Phillip is grateful for the intense research opportunities and critical thinking skills he developed through his Honors courses and writing his Honors thesis, which proved invaluable in preparing for law school and his subsequent career. Jon appreciated how the Honors College helped him understand patterns and have confidence in creating connections across different fields, enabling him to apply his knowledge effectively in his professional context. Both Phillip and Jon attribute the Honors College to helping them to solidify their values and personal worldview, and ultimately playing a fundamental role in their education and professional success.
In giving advice to students today, Jon and Phillip would advise students to have an open-minded approach to education in taking unique courses and actively uncovering hidden connections between subjects and fields. Specifically, Jon encouraged students to embrace smaller classes with diverse classmates, while Phillip suggested keeping an open mind and taking the time to genuinely listen to others. Phillip and Jon both believe that the Honors College can give students the opportunity to broaden their perspectives and uncover unexpected interests.
In conclusion, Phillip and Jon are grateful for the opportunity to pursue an Honors education and look back to their time in the Honors College as a springboard to their professional success.