(Music)
My name is Pamela Bourque.
I’m the Assistant Chief
Counsel for General Law
at Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville,
Alabama. I have worked
at Marshall for about twenty
years, and I do litigation,
ethics, fiscal law, and
employment litigation.
I remember very well
calling my parents to
tell them that I had been
offered a job in the legal
office at Marshall, and I
just can’t explain how
proud they were. That’s
really a memory I’ll always
treasure. I grew up
in a small town in Louisiana.
Both my parents spoke
French as their first
language. It’s a Cajun town,
a little town called
Broussard in South Louisiana.
My mom was a cashier all
of her life, and my dad was
a mechanic. Neither of my
parents went to college, but
my dad was very well read
and encouraged me to do
well in school. I never
wanted to waste any of the
opportunities they provided
to me, and I was a good
student. It was interesting
to me because not many people
in my family went to college,
and so that was not really
expected of me except through
the eyes of my dad. I really
didn’t know what I wanted to
be when I grew up, but I knew
I wanted to go to college.
I always felt like I was only
limited by my own capabilities
and desires and willingness
to learn. One of the best
things about being a lawyer
at Marshall is that I always
felt that the goal of management
was to do the right thing
in the end. Not just winning
the case or proving the point.
And that’s not true if you
practice law in the the other
world where winning is
everything. And so, here,
the idea is we want to do
the right thing. How do we
get there from here? And
that’s been very empowering
and a wonderful place to
grow up in as an attorney
and to try to contribute to.
So I’m very proud of that.
I have a wonderful husband
and two great kids, and I
just see positive things for
me and my family in this
place and working here.
I would really like to be
remembered as being a good
mentor to the attorneys that
have come after me in the
office, trying to help them
learn the way other people
helped me when I first came
to the office. I guess I’d
like to be remembered as a
good attorney, somebody who
was a good counselor as well
as just a technical attorney.
I would like to be remembered
as someone who made a
contribution to the Space
Program and to Marshall.
And I really hope that I’m
remembered as a great mom
and wife by my family. I’m
trying to be a good whole
person, and I think that
that’s very possible to do
if you take your time and
try to pick out the things
that are most important
and let go of the things
that aren’t. It’s been an
incredible journey for me
in my NASA career, coming
as a “fresh-out” of law school,
very young, enthusiastic,
and having the opportunity
to learn from such wonderful
attorneys in the office and
managers, and just feeling
like I really was encouraged,
had opportunities, and that
I’ve been able to contribute
in a positive way to the Center
and to NASA’s mission. I’m very
proud and really feel a
responsibility to try and help
others or mentor them as best
I can in the office and beyond
because I think that the only
limits out there are really
the ones you put in front of
you. And if I can reach this
point, then, really, anybody
can if you’re willing to work
hard and get a great education
and just be open to new
experiences. It’s not really
the destination; it’s the
journey that’s important.