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College blogger to Rhodes Scholar

model bloggers
November 25, 2015

Lawyers tend to look at publishing a blog as a chore. Some law firms need editorial calendars to prompt lawyers to write a post on a regular basis.

How about aiming higher? What about using a blog to accomplish more in your professional life? How about publishing a blog to pursue a passion? To become more learned and respected in an area which excites you? To make a dent in the world?

Look at Evan Soltas (@esoltas), a Princeton University student from Rumson New Jersey. He quickly went from blogging to writing for the Washington Post to last weekend being named as one of 32 Rhodes Scholars.

Soltas started his blog, “economics and thought” as a way to explore and learn economics. Blogging on his own led to guest contributions in Ezra Klein’s Wonkblog, one of the leading publications on health care and budget policy as well as the Bloomberg View.

He told the Bergen County Record:

My long-term aspiration is really to bridge the gap between economics and public policy and really find a way … to the extent that I can help, do research that helps guide the choices that policy-makers make. The way I see my role is not so much, ‘I think this policy is a good idea, or I think this policy is a bad idea,’ but let me help clarify the trade-offs that you face.”

This 22 year old economics major now doing work related to the federal food stamp program, will pursue an advanced degree at Oxford, courtesy of a Rhodes Scholarship, in applied statistics.

Sure, Soltas may be brighter than most of us. He certainly is in my case. But he did something most would not — especially in the case of law students and lawyers.

He made an effort. He showed up. He took a chance. He followed through when he asked the question, “What if?”

Blogging is not easy. Nothing worthwhile in life is. But the places people go and what they accomplish professionally, via blogging, are incredible.

I follow the words, “blog” “blogging” and “blogger” in my news reader, Feedly. I do so to see developments in the area of blogging.

But one of the greatest benefits in following these feeds is seeing the great stories about bloggers — like Ezra Soltas. I find the stories extremely motivating for me, personally, as a blogger — and also to know that by leading a network of law bloggers I can help others.

On the fence about blogging? Need motivation to keep blogging? Get out on the net and find role models.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Doug

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