Student Spotlight: Michael Farmer

To say Michael Farmer took an alternative route to becoming a student in SCM’s Public and Organizational Relations graduate program would be a vast understatement. Prior to becoming a graduate student at Montclair State University, Farmer was an officer in the Army Reserves field artillery unit, insurance salesman, benefits representative, JAG (Judge Advocate General) lawyer, a prosecutor for Essex County, and he has been working as a criminal defense attorney for the last three years since returning from his Iraq deployment in 2012.

Early on in his career as an Army officer in 1994, Farmer became intrigued by the concept of leadership, which explains his desire to become an attorney and later join SCM’s graduate program.

“It became clear to me that teams, groups, and units act more effectively when a quality leader is involved in the mission,” Farmer said. “I also began to see that leadership does not just make processes work more efficiently; it also could potentially benefit people’s lives.”

In 1998, Farmer began working in Denver, Colorado as an insurance benefits representative for the Teachers Insurance Annuity Association (TIAA), where he primarily talked and negotiated with lawyers on behalf of his fellow Army officers. It was there that he became fascinated with law.

“They (the lawyers) all seemed to enjoy what they were doing and gave me some good insight into the day-to-day practice of law,” Farmer explained. “I found what they had to say very interesting, so I decided to apply to law school.”

Farmer moved to New Jersey in 2001 to attend Seton Hall Law School in the evenings while selling commercial insurance to support himself during the days. Farmer graduated from Seton Hall Law in 2005 and has been practicing criminal law since. He worked as an Assistant Prosecutor for Essex County for seven years until he left to practice as a criminal defense attorney in 2013.

During his time practicing criminal law, Farmer saw an opportunity to once again serve his country. He joined the Army Reserves as a JAG lawyer in 2009 and was placed on active duty as a Rule of Law Judge Advocate in Iraq in 2011, where he represented the United States’ interests in criminal court. Also in that position, Farmer reviewed soldiers’ contracts and advised them when they faced adverse administrative actions until he returned from deployment in April of 2012.

In the summer of 2014, Farmer began searching for veteran-friendly schools with good reputations in order to obtain a Master’s degree.

“Montclair State stood out from other schools and after reading the public and organizational relations description and talking to Dr. Luo I was convinced this was the program for me,” Farmer said. “After one year, I can say that MSU was a great choice.”

Farmer credits the program for developing his concept of leadership, something he contemplated many years ago as an Army officer. “I have already applied the leadership and systems concepts and ideas to my work life that I learned from courses taught by Dr. Kelshaw and Dr. Bakelaar.”

Once he obtains his Master’s degree, Farmer hopes to either work for a public relations that consults with political campaigns or work for an organizational consulting firm to improve corporate or government entities’ operations.