In this special episode of the Talks with Tyler ISD podcast, John Tyler High School alumnus and successful business entrepreneur, Jerry Palmer, joins host Jennifer Hines to talk about his incredible journey and life lessons on this episode of Talks with Tyler ISD. In addition to establishing the Ben Brown Honorary Scholarship, with the help of The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) for future Tyler ISD graduates, Jerry shares how Mr. Brown, his former high school counselor, gave him career counseling that forever changed his future path. Before their conversation, Palmer said he planned to be a diesel truck mechanic.
“He said, ‘What are you going to do with the rest of your life,’” Palmer recalls. “You could be a doctor, an engineer, or a lawyer. And that just struck me as odd because my grades were so horrible. And I said there’s no way I’m going to be a doctor or an engineer. And I hate math. But you tell me about this lawyer thing. And here’s one of the most fascinating things that he did. And I think it’s probably the most instrumental lesson that he showed me in that conversation. He said, ‘you know, you should call some local attorneys, make an appointment and go interview them.’”
After that meeting, Palmer says he contacted Tyler area lawyers to learn more about their job. With a renewed interest in education and a new goal to attend college and set his sights on the UT Austin Law School.
“So, I got to go and enroll in Tyler Junior College,” Palmer said. “And with this newfound motivation and drive, I was committed to making straight A’s so that I could get into the University of Texas Law School. And it wasn’t an easy path. I had to work super hard to go from not having any scholastic recognition skills to be able to make A’s, but I did. You know, miraculously it worked.”
Palmer shares the many struggles he had to overcome to reach his college and career goals and, at the same time, his will and determination to make it all a reality.
Palmer graduated from John Tyler High School in 1976. He attended Tyler Junior College before graduating from UT Austin and the UT School of Law. He then worked for one of the world's leading international law firms in California before co-founding his law firm and becoming a successful investor and entrepreneur.
The Ben Brown Honorary Scholarship will award low to moderate-income students from Tyler High School and Tyler Legacy High School who hope to attend The University of Texas.
First implemented in 2018, the Texas Advance Commitment is UT Austin's commitment to making a UT education even more affordable for Texas students and families. Currently, there are not enough funds to fulfill the needs of every eligible student, so UT Austin announced the Texas Challenge.
The Texas Challenge is a match program that encourages UT Austin donors to make gifts built upon the Texas Advance Commitment. The Ben Brown Scholarship will become part of the Texas Challenge supporting Tyler ISD high school students.
To listen to the full episode or catch up on previous episodes, go to tylerisd.org/podcast.