Who Are You, Class of 2014

“I speak to you today, according to our school tradition, to issue to each of you, a challenge. Each of you – the 154 who make up our Class of 2014 – has come to us with a unique “story”. Each of you has found your way to the decision to enter the legal profession through the prism of your own life experience. Each of you is sitting here because of the faith of the faculty that you “measure up” to those who have gone before you. Each of you is standing on the shoulders of those that have paved the way so that you could be here today.” “Politics drew many of you who have worked on campaigns for mayors, senators, congressmen and governors. Some of you have been teachers - one taught French to missionaries bound for Senegal, several are EMTS and one of you is a nationally registered Paramedic. I myself am anxious to get to know the woman in your class who has been baking bread and desserts for a restaurant. One of you lived in Munich for three years and worked as an Intellectual Property Consultant working for such companies as Motorola, Shell, Nestle and Kraft in the complexities of securing trademark registration in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Another of you owns a production company that produces and sells music to TV shows and movie companies, one of you drove a bus for two years and another designed a rain garden.