U.S. Attorney Steve Dettelbach `88 Visits Hawken

On Monday, April 12, Hawken Upper School students were treated to an assembly featuring Steve Dettelbach `88. Steve was nominated by President Obama on July 10, 2009 and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 15, 2009 as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. Steve attended Hawken from kindergarten through grade 12. He told the students gathered in Kennedy Auditorium, \"A lot of what I have become and what I`ve learned came from Hawken. It was and still is a place that encourages you to dream big.\" After Hawken, Steve continued his studies at Dartmouth College before heading to Harvard Law School, where he was a classmate of Barack Obama. While at Harvard, Steve decided on a career in public service, and has since worked as a federal prosecutor for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Offices in Maryland and Washington, D.C., and as a member of the Organized Crime and Corruption Strike Force in Northeast Ohio. From 2001 to 2003, he was detailed to serve as Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and most recently, he was a partner at Baker & Hostetler, LLP. As Mr. Dettelbach talked to students about his career path, he shared some wisdom and advice: consider public service, and do the right thing. \"Hawken was a place that taught us how important it is to be an ethical person,\" he noted. While he acknowledged that much of his work over the years might lead to one to become cynical - public corruption cases in particular - Dettelbach advised students that \"You can`t stop greed. But you can make people conscious of the price there is to be paid for greed.\" In closing, Mr. Dettelbach also encouraged students to take on different roles in their career paths because doing so helps to develop perspective and empathy - qualities that enhance and enrich one`s professional and personal life.