Paying Off the Debt First
Jimmy Howell's commitment to human rights was cemented early in life, when in high school he watched the news coming from Rwanda, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. He was appalled by the atrocities, and he knew he wanted to help. But since then, a life devoted to public service has been reined in-mostly because it doesn't pay enough.
Howell, who hails from a small town in Ohio, studied international affairs at pricey George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The bill wasn't pretty (he paid it through grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study), but Howell knew the nation's capital was the best place to pursue his international aspirations. He was a White House intern in the Office of the First Lady under Hillary Rodham Clinton, worked in her Senate office, and interned at a nonprofit and a think tank.
He had hoped to study international affairs in graduate school and do policy work, but reality caught up with him: "It was hard to financially justify working in public interest." Howell's father convinced him that law school would be more practical, and in 2006 he graduated from American University with a law degree.
Howell left American with more than $200,000 in student loans, but as a lawyer at a high-paying firm in Cleveland, he figures he should be able to pay off his debt fairly soon.
The young attorney, who handles mostly business cases, remains involved in politics. He hopes to eventually parlay his legal position into something more global. "My initial career goals," he says, "those are still with me."
This story appears in the April 16, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.