Profile of Academic Coordinator David Younker

Article by M&M staffers/ Photos by Dan Weitzman

David Younker, the 25-year-old academic coordinator for DukeTIP at the University of Georgia, eagerly awaited the Monday press conference with the Media and Message class to begin.

“I’m looking forward to this,” he said. Finally, the recorder was switched on and the questions began.

“I just want to say, you know, that I’m here because I want to be here,” said Younker.

As academic coordinator, Younker’s primary job is to provide students and teachers with what they need. Younker, who has a self-professed “‘delegatory’ style of leadership,” oversees 17 people, visits classes, attends daily staff meetings and talks with students.

When asked about his opinion on students from UGA Terms I and II, Younker, who was the Criminal Law and Mock Trial instructor for the first term, said he believes there were more “characters” in his first term, but attributed this to Term II students being tired by the end of summer.

As a teacher for TIP, Younker could still name all 18 of his former students by first and last name. Now as the Academic Coordinator, Younker claims to know all students “by face.”

Younker got his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in May 2005 from UGA, and three days later, started taking classes for his Master’s Degree in Social Science Education. Shortly after obtaining that degree, he started on his law degree and graduated from UGA School of Law this past May.

“If I could ever give you a suggestion,” he said, “do not give yourself three and four day breaks between degrees. It’s a bad idea.”

Younker described law school as an “academic boot camp.” However, he worked his way through the challenges and is now studying for the Georgia State Bar exam, which he will take a week from tomorrow.

“There is just something about law that is just a common thread in society. The ability to help people, the ability for justice in society as much as we can make it a just system on Earth, which has limitations, there’s just something appealing to that,” he said.

In terms of what kind of law he wants to practice, Younker said, “I can’t be picky right now,” because the economy is suffering. He found a job application for DukeTIP through the law school’s ListServ, which is a commercial mailing list management system.

He applied and got the job to be a teacher for the Criminal Law and Mock Trial class first term.

After the first term was over, he had a week off before receiving a call from Durham, N.C., where Duke TIP is headquartered.

“They had an opening for an academic coordinator for a term that started in two days,” he said. “So that’s why I’m in this job now.”

However, he admitted that he liked teaching for TIP better than his new administrative position, because he was able to become closer with his students. But he does enjoy the flexibility of being the academic coordinator. “Functionality, for me getting ready for the Bar, this term was better than last term.”

There are many things that are important to Younker, and one of the biggest things is his faith.

“There are always people who give faith a bad name and call it religion,” he said. “Every single person deserves to be heard, deserves to have influence, and deserves to be accepted in a group.”

David describes his faith as a Christian as “the essence to who I am.”

Younker knows he’s not perfect, but he has clear views of who he wants to be.

“I would love for someone to tell me that I was a man with integrity and when I spoke it carried weight,” he said.

David Younker may sound like an ordinary man, but he definitely knows where’s he going and where he’s been.