Ramon Damas
When Ramon Damas of Cookeville, Tenn., first enrolled at Tennessee Tech University, he chose mechanical engineering as his major, however, he’d barely made it to his first spring break as a college student before his life was turned upside down. His mother was deported back to her home country of Honduras, devastating the family.
“I dropped out of school,” Damas said. “And because of everything that was going on, I didn’t drop out in the proper way, which was to officially withdraw from classes, and let the dean know what was going on. I just stopped coming to class and didn't show up anymore.”
He started working in construction to help replace the income his family had lost with the absence of their mother, all the while trying to help his family understand the legal system and what they needed to do to return her to the United States.
“I just remember being super lost, not really knowing who to trust,” he said. “Is what we are being told true or not? We were getting quoted all sorts of wildly super-expensive prices.”
Though it would take 13 years for his family to finally navigate the legal hoops to bring Damas’ mother back to the United States, the struggle pushed him to learn more about the legal system and immigration law, which ignited a passion in him to return to school to continue his education: this time with the goal of becoming a lawyer.
He returned to Tennessee Tech with this new dream, but also with a new hurdle.
“I had been a terrible student in mechanical engineering,” he recalled with a laugh. “I did that stereotypical thing kids do freshman year, where I didn't go to classes as often as I should have. I just partied and did all the things I wasn't supposed to do that first fall semester. Honestly, my GPA was like at a .16 or something like that. It was not good.”
In order to correct his mistakes and get back on track, Damas would have to not only write an appeal to explain his reason for leaving without officially withdrawing, but also re-take all the classes he failed when he stopped attending and keep his grades at a minimum of a B. All of this would have to happen before he could switch to his newly chosen major of political science.
“There was a lady in the office who was willing to just listen to my story and was willing to help me. She provided me a roadmap that told me, ‘These are the things you need to do. They seem impossible, but if this is really what you want to do, do it.’”
Damas buckled down and did the work, this time keeping his focus on his studies. He is especially grateful for his advisors during his years at Tech who helped him navigate the process of correcting his GPA and who later wrote letters of recommendation for him to enter law school. He is also especially grateful to Lori Maxwell, professor of political science, for getting him involved in competitions in Nashville where he had to argue fictional cases before a board.
"I will forever be grateful to Tech and it’s staff. They gave me a helping hand at a time I felt the whole world was against me and I wouldn’t be where I am today without Tech," he said.
After graduating from Tech in 2014, Damas went on to graduate at Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis. He received his first job offer after attending a luncheon where he was the only student who attended. The speaker of the event, who had sat and talked with Damas one-on-one instead of giving a presentation to a mostly empty room, called him the next day and offered him a position at his firm, Blackwatch Investigations. Damas worked there from 2016-2018 as a private investigator and then from 2018-2022 as an attorney with The Claiborne Ferguson Law Firm.
Today, Damas works at Byars Law in Cookeville where he specializes in criminal defense and some immigration law.
“There's a huge misunderstanding of what a defense lawyer does,” he said. “My job isn't coming up with some legal loophole that magically gets you out of jail, because that doesn't exist. It's looking at the context and nuance that led them to these decisions and to the situation they're in. Yes, they've done wrong. But there might be other things we can do that will overall be a better benefit to society than just throwing them into jail and throwing away the key.”
Also, when someone he represents insists that they are not guilty of a crime, Damas wants to ensure that he hears their side of the story without jumping to conclusions. He recalled one particular case from his time in Memphis where he defended a man charged with the rape of his 12-year-old daughter. Though many people’s first reaction is to immediately condemn the accused party, Damas worked for a year to sift through the evidence to find the truth.
It turned out that the man had been involved in a bitter custody battle with the mother. When she lost, due in part to her struggles with substance abuse among other issues, she had encouraged their young daughter to claim abuse from the father in attempt to get her returned. When confronted with the substantial evidence that Damas and his team had collected that disproved the claim, the daughter and her mother dropped their accusations, and the man was released from jail.
“It was just one of those moments that really solidified for me that, in this type of work, no matter how heinous, how terrible the crime seems on paper, you need to listen to what they're telling you,” Damas said. “Not only listen, but also follow up on what they're telling you. Verify what they're saying.”
Damas is the first person in his family to not only go to law school but also the first to graduate from college – and even from high school. As he goes through his day at the law office now, he recalls that he wouldn’t be where he is today without someone listening to his story at Tech and giving him another chance to correct his mistakes. It’s something he has carried with him into his career.
“One bad decision, one bad day, doesn't define who you are,” he said. “I don't represent bad people. I represent good people who've had a bad moment.”
