The law classroom has looked the same for the past six years, located in downstairs B-hall, trophies standing on every cabinet and banners screaming past successes hanging on the walls. For the past several years, the main changes have been the teachers leading the program.

As a first generation college graduate, Bufkin had been a defense attorney before coming to Richardson to teach.

“Being able to go to law school and succeed, for me, was amazing,” Bufkin said. “I have ADHD, but I just put my mind to it. I really wanted to do it, and when you really wanna do something, you are more likely to do it – go through the grind.”

In three years, there have been three law teachers. Seniors and juniors, like magnet student Sarah Thames, have had Ben Fiedler and Brian Sheguit, and now Bufkin.

“Not gonna lie, it has been annoying in that every year it’s a different teaching style, but this year Mr. Bufkin is focusing on the first amendment which is really cool, and we are able to look at it in a different way with debriefing and focusing on court cases,” Thames said.

Bufkin said he is overwhelmed with joy when it comes to getting the chance to work with students at Richardson High school.

“I mean this is my home now,” he said. “I love it here, and I love what I get to teach. The interactions with the students and staff are amazing.”

Bufkin is also taking on two clubs: Law Review and Mock Trial. Mock Trial Captain Catherine O’Shaughnessy said she thinks he is contributing to the team’s success. The Mock Trial team went farther in their competition than they had in three years, ending at regionals.

“Mr. Sheguit just never seemed to fit into the law magnet very well or help the school, but Bufkin has been really great in helping accelerate the Law Magnet. He’s changed the class curriculum, so that it’s much more work intensive,” O’Shaughnessy said.

Bufkin discovered his passion for kids when working at his church with troubled youth.

“A lot of the kids in our ministry were homosexual, and they were struggling with issues with their parents not accepting them and hate at school,” Bufkin said. “They just needed a place where they could feel accepted.”

Eyes swelling with tears, he recalled how he offered that place.

“I love those kids – my heart broke for them,” he said “I was able to show them love, and seeing them smile and laugh and have a good time, and being treated like a person, was wonderful.”

Bufkin said he hopes for the same kind of impact at RHS.

“I want to make [the students] not just one step ahead if they do choose to go to law school, but twenty to fifty steps ahead so when they go into law class they aren’t freaking out the way I was,” he said.