Tom Cotton currently represents Arkansas in the United States Senate. He is a 6th generation Arkansan who was born and raised on his family's cattle farm in Yell County. He graduated from Dardanelle High School before going to Harvard and Harvard Law School. The tragic attacks of September 11, 2001, occurred during Tom's final year of law school, and he began to reconsider his future plans. After a clerkship with the U.S. Court of Appeals and a short time in a private law practice, Tom joined the United States Army as an Infantry Officer where he spent nearly 5 years on active duty.