John Jay Fellow Profile - Mark & Adrienne Meador
Education: University of Chicago, Lee University, University of Houston Law Center
Spring 2008 John Jay Fellow, Mark Meador is completing his last year of law school at the University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) and, his wife and Fall 2007 John Jay Fellow, Adrienne (Morehead) Meador, teaches fourth grade in Houston, Texas, where they reside. Mark is the Editor-in-Chief of the Houston Business and Tax Law Journal, former vice president of the Federalist Society, and the founder of Advocates for Life (a pro-life law student group) at UHLC. The Meadors attend a small Anglican parish, Church of the Holy Trinity. They were married by the Rev. Alan Crippen in August on the University of Chicago campus and are expecting their first child in early July. Later this year the Meadors will move to the Washington, D.C. area, where Mark begins his work for the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition.
Newsworthy caught up with them recently and asked them a few questions:
How has your John Jay Fellowship experience prepared you for family, life, work, church, etc?
Our JJI experiences have truly been a blessing as we start our family. Our belief in the principles learned there particularly helped us in picking a church community. We have been fortunate to find a warm and close-knit community that emphasizes traditional values and theological rigor. The JJI’s focus on public service has also been central to Mark’s career plans. After finishing his studies at the Institute, he knew that his legal career would be focused on work in government. He is excited to be accomplishing that goal and is confident that his JJI education has equipped him to do so in a principled and confident way.
In her teaching, Adrienne has found the lessons from the course on Natural Law especially helpful. In a public school system that is not always friendly to religious expression, reliance on natural law principles can be an excellent means of communicating essential Christian truths. She has also had several opportunities to promote civic awareness and participation among her students.
Finally, we are both relying on our JJI education and experiences as we prepare to raise our children and open our home to friends and colleagues. We hope to make our home a holy place that encourages conservative intellectual discourse and strong spiritual virtues.
Can you share with us any stories from your continuing efforts to maintain the relationships and alumni network you established during your John Jay Fellowship?
Our fellow fellows have become some of our closest friends. We have been in each other's weddings and stay in regular contact through continuing discussions of how we can apply our JJI education to our professional goals. At this relatively early stage in the history of the Institute, we are also all taking a keen interest in each other's career plans as we begin to lay the foundation for a professional network that already spans several major universities and branches of the federal government.
Many of the JJI women and wives also participate in a forum, started by Spring 2008 Fellow, Carolyn Raney, wherein they share articles and advice on Biblical Christian womanhood, family life and marriage, education, etc. - all foundational values taught by the Institute to encourage women who serve at the intersection of public and private life.
What has the John Jay Fellowship experience meant to you?
One of the things that brought us together was our similar backgrounds. We were both raised in traditional, Christian homes and had our appetites for political theory and theology whetted during college. However, it was not until our time at the JJI that all of these influences were brought into harmony and given a singular focus that allowed us to set out on a distinct course of action as agents of change.
You both, and as a family, have become supporters of the Institute, what has motivated you to give financially to the John Jay Institute?
As you noted, we've both become supporters of the Institute, as individuals and as a family. The reason to give financial support to any organization is because 1) it promotes something you believe in and 2) has a reasonable chance of success. Having been through the fellowship, we have first-hand knowledge of the Institute's impeccable spiritual and academic education and have witnessed (and been the beneficiaries of) its singular ability to form leaders and steer them towards positions of influence. Although our means are limited now, we are cheerful givers and hope to one day be able to sponsor a fellow each year.
