Barry Crook:  

Life After college -- and not getting into medical school -- I returned to Dallas and enrolled in the Law School at S.M.U. while working as a waiter at TGIFridays. After a year of law school and trying to work full time, I dropped out -- beginning graduate school at the University of Texas at Dallas. I received my M.A. in Political Economy in 1981 and moved to Austin. After beginning a Ph.D. program in Economics at the University of Texas at Austin, I finally decided I had enough of being a student -- and ran nightclubs and restaurants for a few years. I finally decided to get a "real job" and use my degree -- starting in the Budget Office with the City of Austin. I was a Capital Analyst, an Operating Budget Analyst, a Supervising Analyst and the Budget Manager there. I moved into the City Manager's Office as Project Director doing various management analyses. I became the city's first Quality Officer and led the ...Expand for more