BHS’s alumnus Brett Myrick graduated over 20 years ago and has gone on to do great things for so many people. With a high-power job and a determination to do good, Myrick helps many different people throughout his day.
“I am an attorney at the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C,” Myrick said. “I advise the Secretary of the Interior on a wide range of issues – primarily controversies around appropriate spending and the limits of her authority – related to National Parks, endangered species, Indians, our territorial possessions, among much else.”
Even with Myrick’s essential and powerful job, he misses a few things about our small Baldwin town.
“I love Baldwin and would live there if I could convince my wife to move,” Myrick said. “Beautiful, friendly, close-knit, with an opportunity to be involved in a variety of sports/activities without having to specialize – all the great parts of a small town. Equally attractive is its proximity to a top college town and top-Midwestern city, so there are amenities and cultural opportunities that are hard to come by in other small towns. Baldwin in the Fall is paradise. I loved living near Baker’s campus, it was so beautiful, and lively. Playing football at Liston Stadium is something I’ll never forget.”
When it came to choosing a job, Myrick planned ahead.
“I’ve always been interested in public policy,” Myrick said, “trying to change laws or circumstances to alleviate a wrong or encourage a virtue. I loved policy debate with the now-retired Mr. Holvoet at BHS. I felt my best opportunity to get involved – for someone with no special connections – was to make it to an elite graduate school and enter from there. Law seemed more practical than a government degree. I could use the degree to make a living if policy did not work out. Ultimately, I was interested in a career in public service, and thought a law degree was the ticket to get there.”
Like any job, there are ups and downs to Myrick’s work life.
“I like having a mission instead of a job,” Myrick said. “I get to play a small, but tangible, role in changing the world – which is rare for an attorney. I can go to a National Park and see the visitor’s center I played a role in building. One of my main focuses over the past few years is setting up an orphaned well grant program. Orphan wells are oil and gas wells that don’t have an owner, but are leaking pollutants into the ground and air. I’m seeing data and pictures of this enormous clean-up happening all over the country. Knowing that America is in some very small way better due to my efforts brings me pride, helps fuel me, and makes the more tedious parts of the job palatable.”
Myrick also has some advice for any students hoping to follow in his footsteps.
“To get a coveted job it helps to go to a good school and do well,” Myrick said. “To go to a good school and do well, you have to do well at BHS. That means, of course, getting good grades and high test scores. But it also includes setting yourself for the future by learning good study habits, mastering subjects that will be the basis of your post-high school studies, and mastering so-called “executive functioning”- showing up on time, turning things in on time, sleeping enough. Just going to class and doing the work puts you ahead of so many classmates in college that if you do that, you’re likely to find yourself with great opportunities.”
Finally, Myrick’s last piece of advice goes out to all BHS students.
“I encourage them [BHS students] to take a chance,” Myrick said, “Baldwin High was the last time I got to try something totally different – debate, throw a javelin, sing in Starstruck – and I am grateful for the opportunities. They either provided me with a chance to work on a skill, or priceless memories with dear friends. I don’t regret a single thing I did at BHS, but do regret those things that I didn’t do when I had the chance.”