Stephen Knight '84: Accomplished lawyer, dedicated father, kpop super fan
What sparked your interest in law? When did you decide you wanted to be a lawyer?
My father was a lawyer, so law was always an option, and I had a pretty good idea of what was involved. I majored in philosophy in college, and I enjoyed the process of critiquing and making arguments. That is an important part of litigation. Legal research and writing also involve elements of historical research because of the importance of precedent. I’ve had cases where I’ve had to track down a 19th Century legal treatise or research the historical context in which an 18th century statute was passed. That kind of work is interesting, too. In addition to law, I also considered computer programming, but I could see that the whole computer thing was just a fad.
Are you a native Nashvillian? How has Nashville changed for better or worse since you graduated from USN in 1984?
I am a native Nashvillian. I started at USN when it was PDS, and attended grades 1-12. I really can’t think of any way in which Nashville has changed for the worse since 1984 – I guess traffic is worse? But, come on, now we have the Titans, great restaurants, hipsters, you name it.
How did your college experiences at GWU and Cornell compare to USN? Do you feel USN prepared you well for college?
Polly Fields, a great high school English and Western Civ teacher, was always warning us about how much higher the standards would be when we got to college. But I did not find that to be the case. I went to Duke for a semester and then to Cornell, and I didn’t find that any adjustment was needed academically. Also, because USN gave its students a certain amount of freedom to make choices and mistakes for themselves, I think I adjusted to the lack of supervision at college better than many of my classmates.
You're a parent of two USN Tigers, Sam `21 and Sarah `18. What about your USN experience made you want to enroll your children here?
Of course, USN is one of the best schools in the region, academically. But equally important to me is the culture of the school. At USN, differences are not just tolerated, they are welcomed. I think that USN students have more freedom to explore and express who they are and what they care about. At the risk of getting all Breakfast Club about it, my friends at USN were jocks and nerds and punks and drama geeks and what have you. In fact, some of the jocks were also nerds, some of the punks were actors . . . you get the idea.
What are some of your favorite USN memories from when you were a student here? Any favorite teachers, classes, or extracurriculars?
My first memory of USN is getting into First Grade. There was one spot left, and a little girl and I were vying for the spot. They gave us a test. One of the questions presented pictures of two mailboxes and asked which one we would use to mail a package. I picked the mailbox that looked cooler. Only after the test did I realize that there was no way a package would have fit into the little opening on the front of that mailbox. Grrrrr. I still haven’t gotten over that.
For most of my time at USN I was not a good student. Technically, I’m not sure I actually passed 7th grade. The teacher who turned me around was Polly Fields. She taught English and Western Civ, and her classes were notoriously difficult. My strategy was, first, to avoid Western Civ for as long as I could. I took it as a sophomore. Next, my strategy was to get pigeon-holed as a good student so that I could cruise through most of the year. I ended up tricking myself into actually becoming a good student. I learned a lot and enjoyed the class. Maybe the most important thing I learned in Western Civ is that seeking out challenges is a lot more interesting and rewarding than avoiding them.
Tell us how you became interested in Kpop? For a novice, can you explain what it is?
Kpop is Korean pop music. Think PSY and Gangnam Style. Kpop actually includes a range of genres including dance, R&B, dub step, hip hop, electronica, and recently even reggae and country-pop --- often more than one in the same song. Because Kpop is promoted primarily on television music shows and YouTube, it is very performance- and dance-oriented. Also, because the music is focused on the export market, there are often English-language group names, song names, choruses, etc. (The English is actually aimed primarily at the Asian market.)
I lived in Japan for a while after college, so I’ve always had some interest in Japanese pop music. The kids and I used to listen to Kpop in the car, and while looking for new songs I sometimes came across Kpop music. But since I don’t speak any Korean, I basically ignored it until PSY made it impossible to ignore Kpop. I started adding Kpop songs to our playlist, and before I knew it we were listening to Kpop all the time.
What are your top 5 (or 10 if you need it) essential K-Pop songs?
How about a list of 10 Kpop songs that I think provide a good introduction to Kpop?
I’ve put together a playlist on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyD11K1jbZ799HzYkdlQxWPibLTbVYSBK
The songs/videos are:
Orange Caramel - Lipstick
G-Dragon - Crayon
f(x) - Electric Shock
PSY - Gangnam Style
Crayon Pop – Bar Bar Bar
2NE1 – Can’t Nobody
Girls' Generation – Live in Paris
B.A.P - Warrior
Miss A - I Don't Need a Man
T-ara - Sexy Love
