Blog Article 

 President Trump Congratulates Shon Hopwood 

Michael Santos

Michael Santos

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The criminal justice system has a tendency of decimating hope for people that are going through the system. That’s why it is so crucial to highlight success stories. We can see that success in our friend and partner, Shon Hopwood.

Best Possible Outcomes

On April 1, 2019, President Trump celebrated the importance of criminal justice reform in a White House Ceremony. The following clip from C-Span shows our President calling Shon to the stage, shaking his hand, and congratulating him on the amazing work that Shon has done to improve outcomes of our nation’s criminal justice system. 

President calling Shon to the stage, shaking his hand, and congratulating him on the amazing work that Shon has done to improve outcomes of our nation’s criminal justice system.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4789599/user-clip-shon-president&fbclid=IwAR099sHC_MlJdxBv6E376B_HQS0zAY_l_00UlZVIUChzr0X74L2piuCF4qI

Click link to Watch President Trump Congratulate Shon Hopwood

As is characteristic of Shon’s humility, whenever he speaks, he thanks the many people with whom he works. He recognizes that thousands of people have invested thousands of hours to build a powerful case for reform.

Although Shon is the embodiment of the best outcomes, he lives as a model for us all. In his story, we see that it’s never too early and it’s never too late to begin sowing seeds for a better outcome. Anyone going through the challenges of a criminal investigation, a criminal charge, a criminal sanction, or the aftermath of a criminal conviction, can find hope in Shon’s story.

We encourage others to look to Shon as an example. At one point, he lived without hope. Authorities charged him with serious federal crimes. He pleaded guilty. And a judge sentenced him to federal prison for more than a decade.

Yet rather than allowing those circumstances to characterize his life, Shon took action. He studied. He reinvented himself. He built a life of value, contribution, and service, even while he was serving more than a decade in federal prison.

Shon concluded his sentence during the worst recession of our lifetime. He didn’t have financial resources and he struggled to find a job. With loving support from his wife, Annie, Shon returned to school. He earned an undergraduate degree. A scholarship allowed him to attend the University of Washington Law School.

Incredible persistence allowed him to graduate with honors. He clerked for a federal judge, passed the bar, and became licensed to practice law in Washington state and in Washington DC. Now Shon is a professor at Georgetown Law School, where Tiffany Trump is a student of his, and his aide. In Shon’s story, we see that regardless of where a person stands today, anyone can begin to write a new story. That story can lead to a best possible outcome. The question is how we define a best possible outcome.

  • Define your success.
  • Set your plan.
  • Put your priorities in place.
  • And execute your plan every day.

We congratulate Shon for his amazing accomplishments. We thank him for his leadership.

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