Spears, Cowboy basketball alumnus Reeves prepping for Harvard Law graduation
Monday, April 22, 2024
Three years ago, Trey Reeves walked across the graduation stage in Gallagher-Iba Arena on the same court where he spent countless hours with his Oklahoma State basketball teammates and coaches.
Reeves was both a crowd favorite during games and a standout student at the Spears School of Business. The Gans, Oklahoma native was a first-team Academic All-Big 12 Conference selection, received the Big 12’s Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award and was named one of just 16 Outstanding Seniors by the OSU Alumni Association in 2020. Those accolades and more earned Reeves a spot at perhaps the most prestigious law school in the country – Harvard Law School.
In May, Reeves will earn his law degree from Harvard and take the next step in his career, so Spears Business caught up with him to get the details on that and his expanding family.
Spears Business: Has it set in that you’re about to graduate from Harvard Law?
Trey Reeves: It is starting to set in. Our time here is coming to an end and it has been such an amazing journey. Harvard Law School has been a blessing and our time up here has been wonderful.
SB: Tell us about the tremendous challenge that Harvard Law presented for you over the last three years?
TR: It's been a great challenge, but one that's helped me grow personally. School-wise, law school is very different than the undergraduate accounting program that I came from at Oklahoma State, but I have really enjoyed it. One of the things that has really proven worthwhile is just getting pushed by my professors and fellow students; all of the great minds. Everyone is extremely smart and driven, and they all come from different backgrounds and upbringings. So, they have a unique perspective on things, and I think that being pushed by those people every day has helped me. Here, you have to bring it. You have to perform each and every day, and that’s an exciting environment to be in.
SB: You grew up in Gans, Oklahoma (population 251) and came to the big city of Stillwater (population 49,160) for college at OSU. How much of an adjustment was living in the Boston area (population 4,941,632) for the last three years?
TR: Going into it, I didn't really know what to expect. I've never lived in a city like Boston, and neither has my wife, Steffa, although she’s from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Still, we’re in a much more urban setting than either one of us have lived before, so it has been a change of pace but one we have enjoyed experiencing.
SB: Did your time at OSU and the Spears School of Business accounting program prepare you for the rigors of Harvard Law?
TR: Absolutely. I think Oklahoma State was able to prepare me in several different ways. Here, the professors and students drive you to be at a certain level, and I think it’s similar at Oklahoma State. I think Oklahoma State prepared me to be in this environment. I can’t say enough about the business faculty at Spears.
SB: How fondly do you look back at your time with Cowboy Basketball?
TR: My time with Cowboy Basketball was unbelievable. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and something I'm forever grateful for. I made so many great memories, made so many great friendships; all the players, all the staff, everyone around the program. I couldn't ask for more out of it. The relationships you build are just unbelievable and I still keep up with my teammates. It just meant a lot to me. The fans obviously see the games, but there’s so much more to it. We had practice every day, hanging out in the locker room, traveling together, eating together every day. It’s four years of great memories that I’m so extremely thankful for.
SB: Not only did you move to Boston to attend Harvard Law, but you also got married, and the two of you are expecting a new arrival in June. This has to be an exciting time in your life?
TR: For sure. I couldn't imagine being up here without my wife, Steffa. She has been unbelievable. I've told her that I couldn't do it without her, and that’s the absolute truth. Our time up here together and the memories we have made are something I will treasure and cherish the rest of my life. And we’re expecting here in a couple months, and we're just thrilled. We're over the moon and we couldn’t be more thankful.
SB: What is the next step for you professionally?
TR: After graduation, we’re moving to Dallas, where I'll take the bar exam this summer. In the fall, I am extremely excited to start at Jackson Walker, a Texas based law firm, in the tax department. I did both of my summer clerkships at Jackson Walker, so I am looking forward to working with the great group of people that I have had the pleasure of working with already.
Coming into law school, I knew I wanted to go into tax law or some type of business law, and that’s because of my time at Oklahoma State and Spears. I studied accounting at OSU, which had tons of tax classes, accounting classes, and finance classes, and I really enjoyed it all. I think with the accounting and tax background I probably had a little more inclination towards tax law. I was able to spend my summers at Jackson Walker in Dallas, and they allowed me to dip my toes into several different practice groups at the law firm. While I enjoyed all of them, tax law specifically drew me in. I've enjoyed taking that route and I'm excited to start this fall.