Ok County District Attorney David Prater Speaks To Rose State College Leadership Class Published October 9, 2015

Prater Discussed The Art Of True Leadership

Midwest City, Okla. (October 6, 2015) – Students sit on the edge of their seats taking in every word as District Attorney (DA) David Prater recounts the story of how he became what he refers to as the “accidental DA” while speaking to the Lessons in Leadership Class at Rose State College.  The Lessons in Leadership Class meets every Tuesday and Thursday to develop their leadership skills and learn from those who have gone before them to become great leaders.  In the first session of each week, students hear from guest speakers including college presidents, lieutenant governors and former Rose State students who have life lessons to share.

DA Prater began with the story of his career path which began with a job as a jailer at the Cleveland County Jail at the age of 19.  That start led him to work as a Norman police officer before going to law school at the University of Oklahoma, working as an Assistant District Attorney and spending five years as a Criminal Defense Attorney before running for Oklahoma County District Attorney in 2006.  Prater is now entering his third term as the Oklahoma County District Attorney.  “As I look back on life and I bounced around like a ping pong ball, or so it seemed, what I really see is a straight path to where I am today,” said Prater. He was referring to a point he made earlier in the talk that every path in his life, though it may have seemed random at the time, was building a strong foundation to be the leader he is today.  The students were challenged to think about their motivation for their actions.  Prater told them, “If your motivation is not pure, you are not a true leader…you may have the title, but it doesn’t make you a leader.”

The students in attendance were impressed with Prater’s ability to relate to them and appreciated his words of wisdom. Devin Keely, freshmen at Rose State and president of the Anime, Fandom and Gaming club on campus said she hopes to live out Prater’s suggestion to “Strive for excellence and show that you can be the example, be the role model and build each other up. I feel like his talk was applicable to my leadership roles on campus today but I can also continue to develop as a leader based on his advice.”

Prater ended the discussion with one final thought for the students – “You are only as good as your next decision.”

About Rose State College:
Rose State College is a community college offering more than 60 degree and skilled-occupational programs conveniently located seven minutes from downtown Oklahoma City. www.rose.edu

About David Prater:
David Prater is the Oklahoma Country District Attorney.  He is married to Tamara Pratt, Vice President for Student Affairs and Marketing at Rose State College.