Assistant AG Credits Alma Mater

Former Central SGA president Goefrey Bilabaye, ‘15, now serves as an assistant attorney general for the State of Michigan.”

Assistant A.G. In Michigan Credits His Alma Mater Everything About Me Comes From Central By ANDREA WANER

The legal career of Geofrey Bilabaye, ’15, started with a check and a prayer.

The Tanzania native was a few months shy of graduating from Central Methodist University when he met with his prelaw professor, Dr. John Carter, about the prospects of attending law school after graduation. Bilabaye had found he had a penchant for public service after serving as president of CMU’s Student Government Association and wanted to make a career out of his love for sequence, logic, and service. But, he encountered a stumbling block – cost.

“I told Dr. Carter that I was considering law school, but at that moment I couldn’t even afford to take the LSAT, that maybe I would take it in the summer,” Bilabaye explained. “I went back to my dorm and thought nothing of it until I received an email the next morning from Dr. Carter instructing me to go to his office.”

There, Bilabaye found an envelope with his name on it. Inside was a check and a note from Dr. Carter, telling him to use the money and register for the LSAT. Within a few weeks, Bilabaye’s college best friends J.P. Jacks, ’14, and Keely Jacks, ‘16, were driving him to Columbia for the exam. In the car, before he could walk into the exam room, J.P. and Keely put their hands on his shoulders and prayed. After months of 12-hour days spent studying, Bilabaye earned acceptance at Western Michigan University – Cooley Law School.

“When I was first in the law library, I remember an older student telling me that I must have been in the honeymoon phase of law school and that it would wear off. But, for me, it never did. I am still excited to do my job every day,” Bilabaye said.

After graduating top of his class from Cooley Law in 2018, his first attempt at the Michigan Bar exam was a successful one. Bilabaye was hired as a pre-hearing research attorney with the Michigan Court of Appeals, assisting with the writing of judicial opinions until March 2020, when he was offered an opportunity to serve as an assistant attorney general for the State of Michigan in the criminal trials and appellate division – a success he credits to his start at Central Methodist University.

“Everything about me comes from Central,” Bilabaye said. “Central allowed me to be who I wanted to be. I was a black kid from Africa, and they elected me student body president and continued to push me to do and be more. After seeing what I am capable of, I’ll never go for anything small ever again. Why go small when you can dream big?”

Even in Michigan, he thinks of his time at Central often. Whether it be the memories of purchasing the international flags to display in the rotunda of the Inman Student Center to ensure every student felt a sense of belonging, or the memories of discovering mac and cheese after feeling homesick and missing his mom’s pilau (a traditional African rice dish), Central has deeply shaped his character and his path forward.

“I learned how to work hard at Central; it is truly the birthplace of all my pursuits,” Geofrey stated. “I remember interacting with the Board of Trustees and seeing doctors, successful business folks, and pilots, all who walked the same hallways that I did, and thinking to myself ‘I can do the same thing. I can be just like them.’”

And if the best predictor of future success is past accomplishments, he will be. “I truly see myself being a 97-year-old lawyer, still showing up to court and doing the work. That’s my goal.”

The views in this article are of Bilabaye, and they do not represent the views or opinions of the Michigan Attorney General.

Selling Missouri: Alumnus Foutes Serving As State’s Tourism Director By SCOTT QUEEN

Tourism probably hasn’t been on the mind of many Missourians over the past year. But there’s at least one exception.

Stephen Foutes, ’99, thinks about it all the time. After all, it’s his job.

Foutes was hired as the director of the Missouri Division of Tourism in February-just as the pandemic started to slow not just the tourism business but the economy in general.

“It has been an interesting challenge,” Foutes said. “We’ve had to recognize and respect the public health emergency we’re in.”

While Foutes said travel promotion has stalled across the nation and in Missouri, there has been popularity for visiting sites in-state.

Foutes said that while his office’s mission is to bring in travelers from outside the ShowMe State, there has been a “pivot” toward local trips and a focus on destinations that have COVID-19 safety protocols in place.

“We’re very focused on research, and the consumer sentiment changes from week to week and month to month,” Foutes said. “But we’re definitely seeing travelers focusing on museums and outdoor venues like state parks, Lake of the Ozarks, etc...”

Foutes said an indicator of that interest is shortages in pockets around the nation of the ability to rent campers and get into popular campgrounds.

Foutes previously served the Division of Tourism as a travel guide and website editor in 2010, communications manager in 2012, and public relations specialist in 2015. Most recently he was director of marketing for the Missouri State Medical Association.

Prior to his marketing and tourism work, Foutes worked in the newspaper business. He spent nearly five years as an editor and four years as a reporter at the Jefferson City News Tribune.

Foutes earned his communications degree at Central and still remembers his work as editor of the Collegian his junior and senior year. He lives in rural Callaway County with his wife of 20 years, Brenda, and their two daughters.