I had the great honor and privilege of speaking at my Law School graduation. Since then, I've received a few requests for the text of my remarks. In light of those requests, I decided to post a copy of my address here. The photo below is of me and my childhood best friend, Angeles Estrada, playing in front of the apartments where our families lived in Compton, CA. It felt appropriate to couple my address with this image.
April 27, 2018
Dean Smith, Professors, graduates, family, friends, and may it please the audience. We did it! We can finally call ourselves "Juris Doctors." We are finished, but in reality our legal journeys are just beginning! We may not know exactly what the future has in store, but like Queen Esther of old, we've felt that we have been prepared to come here, "for such a time as this." I know I speak for more than myself when I say that we could not have gone through this experience without the support of so many of the people in this theatre. So, I offer up a heartfelt, "thank you" to each of you on behalf of my classmates.
Law School has changed us. Perhaps you've notice? Maybe we've demonstrated our newly acquired rhetoric skills for you in a debate over family dinner? Sorry about that. Or, it's become apparent that our newfound favorite answer to every question is, "well, it depends." We've probably ruined a once beloved criminal show or two by pointing out the gross inaccuracies and ethical violations of each episode. And lastly, forgive us if we never want to eat another slice of Dominoes or Papa John's pizza again, or if we get sudden cravings for just a handful of goldfish crackers and Swedish fish. I hope though, that there is one change that you've been able to notice in us—a deep understanding and commitment to our role as advocates.
As students of this law school, we've been able to study the laws of men in the light of the laws of God and draw upon the teachings of the world's greatest advocate—our Savior Jesus Christ. He was an advocate who both represented and healed the guilty.
Law school is not for the faint of heart, we've willingly subjected ourselves to the Socratic method, spent hours reading cases trying to make sense of opinions and interpretations of statutes, and have tucked ourselves away in corners of the library warding off undergrads during finals from our precious study alcoves, all of this just to have our entire semester depend on a grade from a two to three hour written exam.
Why, you may ask? Why would we do this? For many of us, law school has felt like a calling. While writing this speech, I reached out to a few of my classmates and asked why they had decided to come to law school. I share with you just a few of the responses from the class of 2018.
"I have been wanting to go to law school since I [was] 14. However, my vision was crystalized after my mission. I desired to further my education in a way [so] I could help my African community and open more doors for the church and better establish the Kingdom of God on earth."
"...I wanted to use my talents and abilities in a way that could positively impact people specifically and the world generally. I saw so many amazing people who needed good legal help when I was a missionary, but they didn't know how to get it or where to get it. So I wanted to fill that gap."
"I love America. I joined the military . . . and I took an oath before God to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. But once I got in the military and was doing my job, I felt like it wasn't enough. I wanted to live up to that oath . . . I felt like I could do more. Like I should do more . . ."
"I decided way back in undergrad when I was finishing my journalism major that I would rather be on the other side of the camera helping people rather than reporting on the bad things happening to them."
These are just a few brief snippets from the marvelous individuals I have been fortunate enough to call classmates and friends.
On the first day of Contracts my 1L year, Professor Jennejohn asked us, "why are you here?" As in, why we were in law school. I remember him saying, "Some of you might answer because you want to make good money, and you know, that's great, but I would advise you to find something more . . . A cause." He went on to tell us that this cause had to be something that tugged at our heart strings, something that got us to school in the morning, something that helped us persevere even when we were tired of submitting draft upon draft for our legal briefs—something that gave us the endurance to go on.
Throughout this experience, my motivation has been my Latino roots, mi raza, mi gente, and the people of my hometown of Compton, CA who for me represent those that live in the inner city in urban areas around the country. People who are plagued by the stereotype that "nothing good can come from the hood."
Though I had never met a single lawyer prior to coming to law school, I have been blessed with examples of great advocates in my life. My greatest advocates have been my parents, who knew better than to have me attend my home schools in Compton. We used the address of a family friend so that my brothers and I could attend a better school district and have a fighting chance for high quality education. For seven years, my morning routing consisted of waking up at 5 a.m., driving 20 minutes to a bus stop, and then taking an additional 30 minute bus ride to school. I will forever be grateful for the sacrifices my parents made in order to give me a better education.
The day I found out I was accepted into law school was an emotional one. To celebrate, my mother and I went to the movie theaters to watch the biopic film, César Chávez. César Chávez has long been a hero of mine. He was a labor organizer and civil rights activist who advocated for the rights of farm workers in the Central California valley. He was committed to securing living wages and sanitary living conditions for these individuals. In short, he was everything I have tried to be. Chavez taught, "The end of all education should be to serve others."
I've seen the embodiment of this quote in the daily lives of my classmates. Law school has a reputation of being cruel and cutthroat, but I have seen my classmates serve each other by sharing outlines, offering to babysit, and caring for each other when illness and accident hit. I've seen my classmates work hard to further the cause of religious freedom and volunteer in clinics to help indigent clients get access to family law and immigration services. They've volunteered their time in Pro Bono work and have helped serve juvenile youth through the community lawyer clinic. This 2018 class will be a force for good.
Though today we graduate, I hope that we do not forget that we are very much our brother's and sister's keepers. We have spent two, three, or four years learning a time intensive and extremely valuable healer's art. In closing, I share with you the admonition from proverbs, "Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy" (Proverbs 31:9). Thank you, and congratulations to my fellow 2018 graduates!
