J. Ben Segarra

Class Year

2004

Professional Background

After my wonderful time at Duke, I went to law school and then clerked for a federal judge in Mobile, Alabama. From there, I went into the private sector and now am a maritime lawyer defending ships and their owners from various claims arising in tort or contract.

How has being an English graduate from Duke University helped shape your professional success?

My English degree remains the most valuable portion of my (ongoing) educational process, because it helped me analyze the world in a somewhat more elegant fashion. In a sense, we never truly learn any particular thing, and even if we think we know about one field, that process is never over. If a field of study enhances one's holistic approach to the deliriously exciting process of continual learning, then that (more often than not) will lead to success. That's what my Duke English degree has done for me.