User:Stephen Aquila

Introduction
My name is Stephen Aquila. Normally, I contribute online under an alias, but I thought the work of Wikipedia was serious enough that it merited my proper name. This isn't a random newsgroup or message board, but potentially a new way to encourage the growth of learning around the world. Everyone who uses my contributions, from my colleagues in the U.S. to children in developing nations, deserves to know that I'm placing my honor behind each one.

About Me
I was born in 1980, and graduated from Muncie Central High School as President of the Class of 1998. I attended Indiana University from 1998-2002 as a Wells Scholar, and served as a member of the Student Supreme Court and an assistant instructor in a Hap Ki Do course. In 2002, I earned teaching rank (a black belt) in Hap Ki Do. Most importantly, I met my future wife in Hap Ki Do club.

From 2002-2005, I attended Cornell Law School and specialized in Intellectual Property, Free Speech, and the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment. I wanted to become a leading Third Amendment scholar, but there's not much call for them today, which I suppose is a good thing.

In August of 2006, I completed an M.A. in recent U.S. History at the University of Virginia, with a focus on the interaction of law, religion, and politics. A few days later, on the 6th, my wife Meredith and I celebrated the one-year anniversary of our marriage.

Since then, I've been employed by the U.S. government as an attorney doing work that's actually quite a bit of fun. Please be assured that all opinions I express (or that you may detect in my writing) are solely my own and do not reflect those of my employer

Interests
I don't have time to contribute systematically, so I just help out when I see something that can be improved a little. Occasionally I run across something obscure in my research, so I write an article on it. The Legend of the White Cowl is a good example of this. Believe it or not, it's a nice break from writing a paper to be able to turn your mind to a completely different topic for half an hour or so.

Editing this page
Feel free to leave comments, correct the grammar, or even add things you think I've left out of the above sections. I'm not particularly territorial about this page, and if I don't like something I can always revert it. All I ask is that you avoid libelous, scatological, or plausibly false comments.

(In other words, don't tell people that I'm a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. That's plausible, but false.  If you want to write that I'm a black belt in Llap Goch, that'd be implausible and actually quite funny, so I wouldn't mind and might even leave it in.)

Public Comments
A super handsome young man; husband, scholar, kick-booty martial artist, and all-around hoopy frood. Steve ROCKS THE HOUSE! Mr. Aquila, I ran across an old picture of you from when we were at Storer, prompted me to use the google, glad to see you are doing so well, last time I saw you was when I took the SAT's in the seventh grade at Muncie Central. (PJ) I remember you. I also remember that you were picked to be "most likely to be President" but retorted along the lines that you'd rather be a Senator. --Christopher Bezy
 * I am also blessed with a loving wife. Stephen Aquila (talk)
 * Thank you, Chad. :)  Stephen Aquila (talk)
 * Hi, PJ! It's been that long?  Wow.  How are things?  Stephen Aquila (talk)
 * Given the kind of stuff that gets dumped on them, can you blame me? I mean, right now I only have to worry about finding my birth certificate if I want to go to Arizona.  (rim shot)  Stephen Aquila (talk)