(classical music) - Please be seated.

Graduates, families, and friends, it is my distinct honor and privilege to welcome all of you to the 2020 commencement of MSU College of Law in this our 131st year of continuous operation.

This is our 23rd commencement ceremony on the MSU campus.

And today, we welcome our 2020 J.D., LL.M., and M.J. graduates to our MSU alumni ranks.

And we thank all of them, all of you who help them reach this day.

We do live in unusual times, but your faith in the future brings us hope today and tomorrow.

Our campus is located on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabe Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Potawatomi peoples.

In particular, the university resides on land seeded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.

We recognize, support, and advocate for the sovereignty of Michigan's 12 federally recognize Indian nations, for historic indigenous communities in Michigan, for indigenous individuals and communities who live here now, and for those who are forcibly removed from their homelands.

By offering this land acknowledgement, we affirm indigenous sovereignty, and will work to hold Michigan State University more accountable to the needs of American Indian and indigenous people.

Our national anthem will be led by a very talented member of the graduating cast, Michael Bechtel.

Will everyone please stand?

♪ O, say, can you see by the dawn's early light ♪ ♪ What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ ♪ Whose broad stripes and bright stars ♪ ♪ Through the perilous fight ♪ ♪ O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming ♪ ♪ And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air ♪ ♪ Gave proof through the night ♪ ♪ That our flag was still there ♪ ♪ O, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave ♪ (audience applauding) - Please remain standing.

Fantastic.

Let's please observe a moment of silence for the untimely loss of a member of the class of 2020, Samantha Kaiser, and for all our friends, family, and fellow citizens who have struggled, sickened, and died during these pandemics.

Please be seated.

I'd like to begin our ceremony by recognizing the College of Law community.

I will start with the faculty who have dedicated their professional lives to the education of our students, and who helped make this a special day.

They have been our graduates' constant intellectual and professional guides, and their mentors.

Our faculty is remarkably accomplished, their teaching is rigorous, and their scholarship distinguish.

They are also committed to professional and public service, and service role models for our students.

As faculty, we have been honored to have you as our students.

In time, your faculty will become your colleagues, your friends, and we are confident that they will be like family who eagerly await news of your journeys.

Will the members of the faculty on the stage today please stand and be recognized.

(audience applauding) We are privileged to have a representative from the MSU Board of Trustees, Trustee Renee Jefferson.

Trustee Jefferson is a former professor of the College of Law, and is currently the Doherty Professor of Ethics at the University of Houston Law Center.

We are also honored to have senior associate provost Thomas Jeitschko who oversaw the integration of the College of Law into the university.

Thank you for being with us here today.

(audience applauding) Also on stage are our keynote speaker for today, the Honorable Justice Elizabeth Clement of the Michigan Supreme Court, and a 2002 graduate of the College of Law.

Also joining me are the administrators of the College of Law.

Please stand.

(audience applauding) We also have the proud representatives of the class of 2020.

Please stand.

(audience applauding) Thank you, you may be seated.

Your class was a remarkable one.

In 2020, MSU Law was ranked number one in the country for its moot court program.

Your class also had outstanding competitors in immigration law, in indigenous tribal law, and also transactional law.

You competed in the American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition, and we're going to hear much more about your achievements later in the ceremony.

You are planning to celebrate when the unthinkable happened.

The coronavirus spread through our planet, changing our lives overnight.

Like the rest of the world with just a few hours notice, you were catapulted into a remote work and learning environment.

You were in your last semester mid-March when the world fully grasped the threat.

You finished your legal education on computer screens, some of you in isolation.

We know that you did not have the chance to celebrate the achievements with your colleagues, and teachers, and family and friends.

You took the bar under tough conditions too, but you made it, and your talent, your resilience, and your commitment to service is evident in your professional history over the past two years.

Your class has had a remarkable employment history.

Almost three dozen of you clerk for judges before beginning practice.

You work at private law firms in Michigan and throughout the United States.

You're also in industry, including banks, accounting and auditing firms, and as in-house counsel, and also as important administrators.

Many members of your class are in important government, public service positions.

These include Homeland Security, the United States Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

You also work with the United States Small Business Administration, as well as the judge advocate course of the Marines, Army, and Air Force.

Members of your class work for state attorneys generals in four states, and you are both public defenders and prosecutors.

And although most of you work in Michigan, your class works in 20 states and five countries.

Your work makes us so proud to be Spartans.

You are truly serving diverse communities in Michigan, the United States, and the world.

Our founders would be so proud.

And you are on your way to amazing professional success.

We are so proud of you.

Do remember that it is a privilege and an honor to serve as a member of the legal profession.

Do remember that you have an obligation to be the best that you can be in those roles, as well as an obligation of pro bono service to your community.

You came to us as outstanding individuals, and we have done our best to prepare you for the challenges and opportunities that will come.

Embrace that, but don't forget that we need your involvement as alums to be the best that we can be as a college of law.

With you as a part of our MSU College of Law community, the best is truly yet to come for Michigan State University College of Law.

It is now my pleasure to introduce MSU Trustee, Renee Jefferson, to welcome our graduates to the ranks of MSU Law alumni.

(audience applauding) - Thank you, Dean Greene.

On behalf of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, I welcome graduates, your family and your friends who are joining us today.

Under the Michigan constitution, the Board of Trustees is the governing body of the university by whose authority your degrees are awarded.

Today's ceremony represents the culmination of your academic achievement.

The degree you've earned acknowledges your success, and it honors those who have encouraged you and supported you in many ways.

Our wish is that you will use your knowledge and understanding to improve the quality of life for your community, to advance the common good, and to do justice.

Our faculty, administrators, and trustees are proud of you.

Thank you for allowing us to share this very special time with all of you, and congratulations.

(audience applauding) - It is now my pleasure to introduce senior associate provost Thomas Jeitschko, to offer remarks on our graduate's bright future.

(audience applauding) - Thank you very much.

This is especially exciting to me, because we've been waiting so long for this.

So it's a pleasure and an honor to join all of you today as we celebrate in person the academic accomplishments of you as our first class of fully MSU graduates of the College of Law.

Much like your college's storied history, each of you have come a long way.

You've been forward-thinking as you have expanded your horizons.

And because of that, you have embarked on a bright future, and it will continue to be that way.

Each of you will forever be part of the College of Law, and forever part of Michigan State University, one of the nation's leading research universities, both of which are committed to fostering academic excellence and making a transformative impact.

Michigan State University is one of the first land grant universities, and the College of Law with its storied root in Detroit.

As you all now know, the strength and the savvy, as well as the caliber and the capacities of the faculty, the staff, and your fellow students from whom you have learned a lot, and with whom you have learned a lot during your studies, and perhaps hopefully also since your studies here at Michigan State University and in the College of Law.

You now continue that legacy of excellence, extending your new knowledge in ways that will advance greater good and combat the world's most pressing problems.

Each of you is now an ambassador of MSU and also of the College of Law, representing our mission, our values, and the goals that we all share in the years to come.

I have no doubt that your education here at MSU and your experience since has prepared you well for both the opportunities and the challenges that lie ahead for you.

So too have your experiences navigating the uncertainties of the pandemic first touched upon as you were leaving here and having dealt you decisions that were not of your own making over the last two years.

It's my hope that the resilience that you built and the ways you have weathered decisions that were not of your own making will become strengths of character for you as you move forward.

The world needs you and your skills.

And all of MSU and the College of Law look to you as you're our ambassadors in the world.

Your impressive scholarly achievements culminate today in the conferral of your degree in person, along with the conferral of our great faith, hope, and pride that has been with you over the last two years.

As we send you forth from today, we are counting on you to continue to tackle seemingly intractable challenges that we face locally and globally.

We have every confidence in your abilities as we honor your scholarly success and your professional success on this auspicious day, your in-person graduation from the College of Law at Michigan State University.

Congratulations, and thank you.

(audience applauding) - When Michigan State Supreme Court justice, Elizabeth Clement, spoke to a group of our incoming students in the spring of 2019, she emphasized the centrality of active listening and the need to communicate across differences.

"I have a lot to say," Justice Clement told her audience.

"I have a lot of ideas, but it's important for me to really listen to the voices of the people I'm working with so they will know they've been heard."

Some of those students are here today.

They are fortunate indeed to have both commenced and concluded their law school journeys with wise words from Justice Clement.

Justice Clement is a member of the MSU Law class of 2002.

She attended lectures in the same four-four classrooms as our graduates here today, and had a handful of the same faculty members.

She was a fierce moot court competitor, as many of you are.

Her impressive career took her into private practice where she was a partner at Clement Law, and then to the Michigan Senate, where she served as legal counsel and was responsible for State Senate advice and consent processes, including providing reports and recommendations on appointees.

She went on to serve as chief legal counsel in the executive branch before Governor Rick Snyder appointed her to the Michigan Supreme Court in 2017.

She is the court's core co-liaison to the State Court Administrative Office Department of Child Welfare Services, and represents the court on the governor's Juvenile Justice Task Force.

She also serves as a liaison to the problem-solving courts in the state of Michigan.

Justice Clement, I thank you for the judicial insight and advocacy that you exercise on behalf of Michigan's diverse communities.

Your career is a powerful example to our graduates, and I hope that they are inspired to take up public service during their careers, as you have done.

And with that, I welcome Justice Clement to the podium, thank you.

(audience applauding) - Thank you, Dean Greene, and good evening, class of 2020.

I am so excited to be here with you all this evening.

And I'm thrilled that you are all here to receive the congratulations and accolades that you deserve and missed out on when you officially graduated.

I cannot express how excited I was to be invited to be your commencement speaker this year.

I never dreamed that my alma mater would ask me to come back 20 years after graduating and address a future class.

That's because when I was graduating, I was scared out of my mind about the future and what my career would look like.

Now that you've been out in the professional world for the past two years, you may have moved past feeling nervous, excited, unsure, overwhelmed, or scared.

But if you're still unsure about the path before you, I wanna let you know that it's understandable and you're not alone.

You have embarked on an incredible journey, and I want to share my reflections, and the things I wish I had known when I was a brand new lawyer.

When Dean Greene asked me to be the commencement speaker, my thoughts immediately went to a day this past August.

After a few grueling days of moving our oldest daughter into her freshman dorm, we attended the matriculation ceremony at her new college.

As the president spoke to the freshman class and their parents, she related that the experience these new college students were embarking on and the college they were becoming a part of was analogous to a tree.

It was one of those speeches that made us feel excited about where our daughter would be spending the next four years of her life, but it was also a metaphor that resonated with me.

For me, a tree symbolizes life and growth, and I began reflecting on my own life and experiences through this lens.

As I look out at all of you, I see different types of young trees.

Before you even arrived at MSU Law, you had your roots, a trunk, and maybe a few branches.

Your roots helped collect the nutrients that you needed to create stability and anchor your tree.

Your roots are your beginning.

They make you unique and one of a kind.

They are your family, your history, culture, customs, and friends.

Your roots help keep you grounded.

When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.

The tree trunk is the core of the tree and supports the structure, offers protection, and provides the connection for the roots and the rest of the tree.

Your trunk also started forming long ago and was developed by your education, maybe sports or music, your interests, your love of learning, your curiosity.

Your past experiences, the fun, exciting, happy, as well as the sad, heartbreaking, or traumatic also make up your core.

Your trunk grew stronger during law school as you challenged yourself, were uncomfortable, learned to think and analyze and question in a very specialized way.

Law school is hard enough, but then your final months were upended by a pandemic.

I cannot imagine how difficult and scary it must have been to finish law school remotely, isolated from your classmates, family and friends.

And then to face the bar exam and job market in the very height of the pandemic.

But you persevered and showed the depth of your strength and resilience by becoming lawyers during a pandemic.

And you didn't just survive.

You thrived.

You found ways to engage with the world around you and give back.

As a collective whole, the class of 2020 showed by example, that good lawyers serve others and that good lawyers not only lead, but lead for the benefit of others.

So for those of you that I referenced at the start who may still be uncertain or unclear about your future, take heart in the fact that by graduating from this great institution, you are equipped with among many other things, service and leadership skills, two of the most pivotal character traits of any good lawyer.

But like all of us, you must continue to grow.

No tree of course is complete with a trunk alone.

The branches of a tree symbolize physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual growth and nourishment.

They also represent reaching and growing, but the branches are not the topics you studied in law school or the different types of law that you may practice.

They represent you as a whole person, and the mark you make on the world professionally and personally.

And what the branches embody and symbolize depend on each and every one of you.

You officially joined the legal profession just two years ago, and you have an incredible opportunity before you.

An opportunity to grow branches beyond those acquired in law school, and that represent what I believe is paramount to this noble profession, honesty and integrity, civility, leadership, community, passion and purpose, courage, and defending the liberty and rights of all people.

Your time at MSU Law in the past two years have prepared you for all of this, and now is the time to embrace these core principles and grow your branches.

Honesty and integrity.

Most of you have already taken your oath to uphold ethical expectations of yourself and for your clients.

This along with the professional rules are your guide.

Represent your clients with passion, fight for them, empathize with their plight.

But there are not degrees or levels of integrity.

This is an all or nothing deal.

Be honest, trustworthy, and respectful at all times, professionally as well as in your personal life.

This is not to say that you will not be challenged, but when you are, choose the harder path that demonstrates your integrity and upholds your ethical and moral compass rather than the easier path.

It will define who you are as a person and as a lawyer.

You have committed too much time, effort, and energy, and sacrificed time away from family and friends to not demand the best from yourself.

The civility branch.

The legal profession by its very nature, as I'm sure you are all now aware, is oftentimes adversarial.

So I ask you to show kindness and civility in all that you do.

Lead by example.

Recognize when your actions are not in line with that goal and do better.

Look for those opportunities to promote civility and kindness, regardless of the behavior others exhibit, and mentor others to do the same.

That is why we're all here, to serve others and treat everyone with the respect, dignity, and civility that they deserve.

This is true in all circumstances, even if you must show civility in the face of incivility, which I promise will occur more than once throughout your career.

The leadership branch.

Lawyers, leaders, Spartans, I cannot think of a better model for MSU Law.

And I can attest that law school is what prepared me to be a leader, just like it has all of you.

As I mentioned earlier, you left this great institution as leaders, but true leaders always continue to grow.

Leadership is going to look different for each of you, but I believe the key to leadership is to listen.

Lawyers are known for liking to talk, to express their opinions, to be right, to argue.

But listening is what allows you to understand the perspectives and opinions of others, truly hear what they are saying, and also what they are not, and leads you to making decisions that are informed and collaborative.

Being a listener can mean the difference in being an effective leader versus just being someone in charge.

It is the one attribute that will lead others to follow and respect your leadership.

The community branch.

When I think of community, I recall some simple, yet powerful words of wisdom from the late US Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

"If you want to be a true professional, do something outside yourself.

Connect with your community and give back in whatever way you can.

Think of how you can promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in our culture.

identify who is in need and offer your assistance willingly.

Do not place limits on where or when you are willing to serve, rather be available always.

Sometimes these opportunities will arise when you are at your busiest and when it is most inconvenient.

Those are the opportunities you should embrace above all others.

Your education has equipped you with a special skill, and to whom much is given, much is required.

Embrace that thought every day of your lives.

The passion and purpose branch.

I am sure the last two years have shown you that when you left MSU Law, it was just the beginning of a life of learning.

I continue to learn every single day, and I find it one of the most rewarding parts of being a lawyer.

You will never know at all, and that is exciting.

When I first went to law school, I had a plan to go back to the public sector and practice government law, but I made the decision to take a family law class because the Michigan bar exam was going to start including that area on the essay portion.

That class and my professor ignited an interest in me that I never expected.

My advisor urged me to do an internship at legal aid, and I found a passion for helping people, some in the most vulnerable and emotional times of their lives.

I went on to practice family law at the beginning of my legal career.

And even when I left private practice and went to the public sector, it is a passion that has been at the core of my career ever since.

I'm grateful that I'm able to bring that passion I have for families and youth involved in our child welfare and juvenile justice system to the role I have now.

I want you all to find your passion and purpose and be open minded to what may ignite that spark in you.

And it's okay if you don't know yet.

Sometimes it takes putting yourself out there, seeing where the need is, and following your heart.

The courage branch.

Courage to stand up for what you believe in, to speak when others stay silent, to push yourself out of your comfort zone, courage to do the right thing regardless of the consequences.

Have the courage to admit I don't know the answer, and then do the work to find it.

Have the courage to recognize your strengths and utilize them to help others, but also to recognize your weaknesses and commit to doing whatever it takes to turn those into strengths.

Have the courage to remember that as lawyers, we are called to defend the liberties and rights of all people.

We are all responsible for upholding justice and standing against injustice.

To help you foster this, seek out mentors, professors, professionals, leaders, family members you admire.

Don't be afraid to ask for help.

You are part of a profession where many of those that came before you can and want to assist you on your journey.

Call them, email them, write them a letter.

Having a mentor and leader, being a mentor for someone else, which is just as important, can lead you to finding your purpose and your passion.

Bounce ideas off that person, engage in debate, ask questions, be of service.

The more you put in, the more you will get out.

I was fortunate to have several people along my career who invested in me and my path forward.

And I became the lawyer I am today because of their investment in me.

So that may sound like a lot of branches, but all of the branches work together for the strength of the tree.

The more branches you have and the stronger they are, the more leaves.

More leaves mean more food and nourishment.

That food and nourishment means stronger roots and trunk and the taller and broader the entire tree grows.

And remember, there are so many different types of trees in this world, but they all share the parts that make the hole that I've talked about today.

And it doesn't matter if you're a fast growing tree or take decades to grow into a solid strong oak tree.

Trees are strong, resilient, bending, but not breaking, patient.

They persevere despite challenges and setbacks and trees change over time.

Thank you to all of the families who have supported these students, to Dean Greene and the faculty and staff, for your vision for the future and your unwavering support of each of these graduates, the alumni and supporters whose well wishes and financial support make MSU Law what it is, and to Michigan State University for making this law school such a wonderful place.

And most importantly, to the graduates.

You have spent the last several years developing a specialized skill that you can and should use to make the world a better place.

And if you use that skill to its potential and remain true to yourself, you will discover the true rewards of life, satisfaction, self-pride, happiness, and joy.

You have worked hard and you deserve this moment.

As you continue to launch into a great life ahead, celebrate yourselves and enjoy the results of your work.

Congratulations to the 2020 MSU Law graduating class, and go green.

(audience applauding) - Justice, thank you so much for your speech today.

I met you by phone during my transition, and vowed then that I would get to know you.

Shortly thereafter, I saw you at a social event last summer, and I asked you whether you might speak to our graduating classes.

Since then, I've heard you speak, and I've learned more about your amazing commitment to public service and to the betterment of our community.

Thank you so much for joining us, and we look forward to working more closely with you and the court going forward.

Class of 2020, you have selected impressive class officers.

Your J.D.

class president, Emilie DeRemer will present the faculty award and will present the staff award, and your class officer Victoria Espinoza will introduce the class speaker.

Yeah.

(audience applauding) - Good evening, everyone.

It is my pleasure to be with you all today, two years later, to celebrate all of our achievements from graduation to careers, and to all that has come in between.

I am honored today to present to you a professor that means a great deal to the class of 2020, Professor Catherine Grosso.

Professor Grosso has received a bachelor's degree in international studies with Middle Eastern concentration from Earlham College, and a J.D.

from University of Iowa College of Law.

Professor Grosso is also the managing editor of the National Registry of Exonerations.

The Registry collects, analyzes, and disseminates information about all known exonerations of innocent criminal defendants in the United States from 1989 to the present.

Her, along with another fabulous professor that we all know and love, Barbara O'Brien, have recently exam examined the persistent role of race and jury selection and in charging and sentencing decisions related to capital punishment.

We have seen Professor Grosso in many capacities from being an exceptional professor in courses from one L to upper level, to being criminal defense association advisor.

She has been such a valuable asset to so many people, including aspiring criminal defenders and public defenders like myself.

Without further ado, it is time to recognize this amazing professor, and I am so humbled to do so today, Professor Grosso, everyone.

(audience applauding) - Thank you.

Finally, I get to put it on my wall.

I can't believe you all are here.

You just vanished, didn't you?

We just all disappeared from each other.

So thank you, Emilie.

And thank you all.

It's such a great honor to be recognized this way by you all.

It was, maybe you know this.

It was a huge surprise to me that being a teacher would be one of my favorite things.

But you know, those of you who've been in my class, that I love teaching you.

I love watching you get it.

And I love seeing you be lawyers now.

And that's what I get to do with you all.

It's just such a joy.

It's so much fun.

So you also all know, and we've talked about, ways in which this pandemic knocked us off our orbits in the spring of 2020.

Some of you might even remember just how tightly packed we were in a third floor classroom at the exact moment they shut the building down.

I guess we do have to leave.

We made it through the last few weeks of the semester because of your goodwill, and because your willingness to make education happen however we were going to do it.

But traditionally, our graduation signals the movement from spring into summer.

We celebrate.

We pause a minute.

And then we move forward.

Without graduation, without what we're doing right now, I felt like all of us had been launched into the ether.

We'd all been left in some kind of suspended animation.

We were just like, but slowly, I heard evidence and I saw evidence of your resilience.

They keep talking about it, but I know it, and you all know I know it.

Here's what I know.

I know that you faced that dreaded bar all over the place.

And it was the most unjust bar that has ever happened.

And you made it through it.

And you are practicing lawyers.

And those of you who are still working at it are gonna make it through it, because that's just how you are.

You found jobs, and many of you found new jobs, different jobs, jobs that were a better fit or that it was time for.

You made additions to your families in lots of different ways.

You embraced life in these challenging times, in these uncertain times, and you did it with clear thinking, with strong hearts, and with incredibly hard work.

This kind of resilience, that's what I mean when I say resilience.

This kind of behavior is a hallmark of being a Spartan lawyer.

That's what I know from all the Spartan lawyers I've come to know.

And I am so proud to have been your teacher, and to have been honored in this way by you.

I look forward to seeing what you do next as the years unfold.

You all know how to find me, and I hope you will.

And I tell you congratulations, and thank you.

(audience applauding) - Good evening, again, everyone.

When the class of 2020 officers were considering our staff awards, the option was absolutely clear from the beginning.

It was Moses.

If there was one person in the law college that was the, (audience cheering) give it up for Moses first, yes.

(audience applauding) I've got so much more to say about you, but you'll be here for this.

- Yep.

- All right.

And he has two today if everybody doesn't know.

So if there was one person in this law college that was the most consistent face, it was Moses.

If you ever needed a smile, an uplifting comment, Moses, he was there.

Personally, Moses was one of my best memories at the law college.

All of the late nights he'd see me in the law clinic.

He'd tell me to go home and get some rest.

All the times, he smiled warmly to the prospective students as I was giving them tours of the law college.

He always made them feel welcome and ready to be at MSU.

He's always cared so much about a positive mindset, a positive influence to all the law students, and he's brought that mindset with him every time I see him.

He's now working with Michigan State University's undergrad population.

So many law students will miss out by not seeing his smiling face every day.

But I know he's giving that same courtesy, support, and care to every student he comes across.

We are delighted to present his plaque for 2020, and also to present his plaque for 2021, as he was not able to receive his award last year due to COVID restrictions.

Please show Moses that same support he showed us during our three years.

And give it up for Moses Gomez one more time.

(audience applauding) - You all set?

- Yeah, I think we're all set.

- Okay, Tomas?

It's your turn.

Tomas?

- Yes.

- Okay.

- Good evening, class of 2020 faculty and staff, mom and dad.

My name is Victoria Espinoza, and I'm so happy to be here with you guys tonight.

It's an honor to introduce to you our 2020 class speaker, Tomas Porras-Acosta.

(audience cheering and applauding) He is someone who walked the halls of MSC Law with a permanent smile on his face.

I don't know how.

Emanating joy, support, and light during a traumatic time in my life, law school.

Just kidding, law school is an amazing experience.

So born and raised in El Paso, Texas, a city right along the US-Mexico border, Tomas grew up in El Paso's Segundo Barrio.

After high school, he earned his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Texas at El Paso in criminal justice with a minor in business management.

He's also a graduate of the UTEP Law School Preparation Institute, where him and I met.

And during his undergraduate studies, he interned for the El Paso County Public Defender's Office, and the El Paso 34th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

While in law school, Tomas was part of the Trial Practice Institute, moot court, and on the executive board of the Latino Law Society.

He was also a clinician for the MSU Housing Law Clinic, and intern for the Honorable Anne T. Berton, and the Honorable Robert F. Castaneda of the United States court for the western district of Texas.

Tomas secured postgraduate employment before we even graduated, no pressure on passing the bar.

He passed the bar and immediately began practicing as an associate attorney at ScottHulse, one of El Paso's top firms.

His practice focuses on litigation and general labor and employment law.

Introducing Tomas to you all tonight is especially meaningful to me, because aside from us both being from El Paso and being moot court partners and so on, he became my family here while we were both nearly 2,000 miles away from home.

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, please help me in welcoming our 2020 MSU Law class speaker, Tomas Porras-Acosta (audience applauding) - Thank you, Victoria.

Good evening, attorneys, professionals, family, faculty, friends, and alumni.

I stand before you not as a class officer, ladies, not as an attorney, and I can definitely state with confidence that I was not your valedictorian.

(audience laughing) Whoever has that honor, congratulations.

Instead, I simply stand before you as the class speaker, and as an example.

To me, the class speaker is someone who's been honored to convey a message of inspiration and encouragement to continue making you pride in order, to continue doing the legacy of being a Spartan.

Now, COVID-19 in the year 2020 had different plans, some that we could not control.

Together, they conspired to cancel countless events, bring tragedies, and somehow postpone this graduation about two years, 14 doggy years, I don't know how many surveys later, but thank you, Michigan State.

Thank you.

For this reason, I will only take the time necessary in order to convey my class speaker message.

Initially, my speech emphasize the importance of continue believing in yourself as you were heading out to navigate the murky waters, of being a professional and an attorney.

Within that short, before that short pause of two years, many of you believed in yourself and became part of a law review journal, moot court competition, a trial team, an arbitration team, and the Trial Practice Institute, TPI.

Others believed in yourself and took the lawyer's oath and became a clinician to go toe to toe with Uncle Sam or other much experienced attorneys.

Others believed in yourself and decided to pursue an MBA degree, to conquer both the law and the professional aspect of life.

With that continued belief, many of you became judicial law clerks who have helped write opinions who have changed the law.

Others of you became attorneys who zealously advocate for your clients, no matter what side of the view you're on, or the type of law.

Others with that continued belief obtained your MBA and now are part of a Fortune 500 company.

And with that continued belief, you not only got one law license, but two law licenses to practice both in the United States of America and in Canada.

Amazing, by the way, all those accomplishments.

While I cannot further stress the importance of continue believing in yourself, my message as the class speaker is the importance of paying it forward.

Paying it forward as an attorney, a professional, a future executive, a future judge, but most importantly as a human being.

You may not know this, but my parents had no idea that I was a class speaker.

No idea.

Mama, Papa.

To them, their mi hijo, their son was simply fulfilling another accomplishment in his career by accepting it through this formal ceremony.

After two years of keeping it a secret, I can finally say, Mama, Papa, surprise.

(audience applauding) (speaking in foreign language) It was really hard to keep it a secret.

(audience laughing) Now, earlier I stated that I stand before you as an example and as a class speaker.

As an example, because without others paying it forward, I would not be here today.

While I am grateful for everything that my parents have done for me, the sacrifices, emotional and moral support, and making me the person who I am today, I understood that my parents could only guide me to certain point of my journey of life.

My parents did not graduate middle school, which gave me the understanding that some of my guidance had to come through others who have traveled a path that my parents did not get the opportunity to.

However, and sad to say, the understanding of the importance of an education did not come until I almost didn't even graduate high school, and after rejection letter, and after rejection letter, and after rejection letter from my undergraduate colleges that I applied to.

While I was saddened that I wasn't gonna go to these universities with my buddies, I was deeply humbled and grateful that my undergraduate alma mater took a chance on me and accepted me.

These rejections put a boulder on my shoulder and ignited a light and a fire that continues to burn.

Navigating college as a first generation student had many ups and downs.

Trust me, many.

For example, one day I was walking by my undergraduate alma mater's hallway, and I saw that my name was in a hall, in a board right by my hall, the hallway.

And so my name being on the board because of my experiences in the past wasn't a good idea.

It wasn't a good, nothing good.

And so I told myself, okay, well, what did you do now, Tomas?

And like a curious cat, I inquired about it.

It turns out that that board was recognizing the dean's students, an accomplishment that I didn't even know existed as a first generation student.

As the semesters passed by, my need to become somebody with a college degree evolved as I fell in love with the consumption of knowledge.

It was then that I applied to my undergraduate alma mater's Law School Preparation Institute, LSPI, like how Victoria stated.

LSPI became the guidance and the parents who can walk me through the scary application, law school application process, and the LSAT.

But like my parents, LSPI could only take me so far.

Only so far, because it was the LSAT who burst my bubble.

Just like I'm sure it did to some of us.

No matter how hard I would study, no matter the countless of hours that I would put in, my score in the LSAT would at times decrease instead of increased.

I would get more questions right by guessing than by actually trying.

It's a talent.

Ultimately, no matter how hard I studied, and I ultimately graduated with 3.8 GPA, the LSAT score, my LSAT score was not even in the 50th percentile.

My LSAT score made me second guess my love for knowledge.

And it made me second guess my dream of becoming an attorney, because the LSAT score is an alleged indicator of how well you would perform in law school and in the bar exam.

I had finally had a passion for something, and a paper with a score said that I may be not good enough.

After pulling myself together, a lot together, I told myself that whoever gave me a chance and accepted me to their law school, I would forever make them proud, because I understood that an exceptional attorney comes with hard work, sacrifices, and most importantly comes within.

Before I visited Michigan State University as an admitted student, it was a Michigan State alumni who took me in under his wing and exposed me to trial.

I was at the public defender's office, and we had jury selection as an intern.

And that is when I fell in love with litigation.

I knew then that I wanted to be a litigation attorney.

And you might think, wow, okay, well, happy ending, right?

Well, it wasn't.

It kept getting worse.

Well, as many of you experience, and do not lie, I've seen you all in the hallways, law school pushed you to your limits.

At times, it made you cry.

It bent you, but it did not break you.

To me, I cannot go back to Texas, I could not go back to Texas a nobody, a quitter.

No matter how bad I wanted to quit every day during my first year.

However, on October 17th, 2017, my life took a 180, thanks to Michigan State paying it forward again, just like the alumni did.

Growing up, and especially during the LSAT process, I would listen to motivational speaker Eric Thomas, who is also a Michigan State alumni.

I listened to him to continue pushing forward through my studies.

October 17th was a Tuesday, during my first semester, and I was at my lowest point.

I was at my breaking point as I felt that law school had chewed me up and spat me out.

It was a Tuesday that I stumbled across a Michigan State link that informed me that Eric Thomas, motivational speaker and alumni, was giving out speeches at Michigan State for free, going from YouTube to in-person session.

I thought this is destiny, because I was at my lowest point.

I told myself, well, how much lower can you get?

So I immediately got up of my seat, I left all my belongings at the law library, and I headed out three buildings down where Eric Thomas was.

As I went inside and began listening to Eric Thomas, he asked us to take out something to write with and something to write on, and proceed to write, don't try, execute, to a goal that we had.

As I looked around and I saw students and people who attended writing their goals down, I only had a highlighter in my pocket and a dollar in my wallet, 'cause I had left all my belongings at the law library.

And so I looked around and I'm like, gee, Tomas, even in this last shot, you're behind.

And so then I said, okay, now you can't go lower.

Nevertheless, I went ahead and proceeded to write, don't try, execute.

I will pass law school.

There's a dollar out there that should have been in the screen, but technical difficulties.

Coming out of listening to Eric Thomas, I gained the strength that I needed to continue pushing forward because this Michigan State alumni paid it forward.

During this time, it was a first semester, and Rosa Jarquin, assistant director of Student Affairs, was also trying to keep me afloat.

Just like many students did, I would go to her office and I would cry in there.

I would complain.

I would ask her, why shouldn't I quit?

I wanted to quit.

But she listened.

She provided inspiration and encouragement, and countless of tissues, countless.

Without Rosa paying it forward, I would not have been able to work with Goldie Pritchard from the assistant dean of Academic Success Program.

It was Goldie, Goldie and Rosa who opened my eyes and made me realize that I had came across a blessing and a curse.

A blessing and a curse.

A curse, because while I was studying hard, I wasn't studying correctly.

While others were studying colors, I was studying shapes, which is crazy.

And a blessing, because Rosa and Goldie made me realize that law school can get conquered by making a little bit of tweets at (indistinct), hard work, and continue pushing forward, not giving up.

It was the action of paying it forward by these Michigan State alumni, faculty, and staff that helped me continue moving forward no matter how hard life wanted to keep me down.

As it does at some point, law school clicks, right?

Law school finally clicked for me in my third semester, after I interned with Judge Castaneda and Judge Berton, who exposed me to the bigger picture of the practice of law.

And after, Professor Pucillo, Professor O'Regan, Professor Sherman and other faculty and staff from Michigan State took me under their wing, or should I say their Spartan shield.

It was not until this third semester of law school that I had finally made the dean's list.

This time, I knew what a dean's list was.

While there are countless of other stories that I can relay as I stand before you, I'll say those when I write a book or when we're a lot of shots deep in later on.

My point is, is that you now have two years under your belts whether as a professional or as an attorney.

So I want you to reflect upon yourself and your journey, and thank those who have paid it forward to help you get to where you are today.

It may be your parents.

It may be a spouse.

It may be your children.

It may be a faculty and staff or an institution who picked you back up before spreading your wings.

Or it may be a colleague where you currently work, who has offered you their mentorship to help you navigate the stressful reality of being a professional.

Then I want you to think and reflect, and ask yourself, how can I pay it forward?

How can I help others as others have helped me?

When you feel swamped with life and somebody reaches out to you, pause and find the inner strength to extend your hand and pay it forward.

Don't fall short of being able to change someone's life.

Fight the urge of falling short of changing someone's life.

That person may be reaching out to you because their parents didn't attend college.

Because they're struggling with their educational opportunities.

Because they can't figure out the LSAT or because they can't figure out the bar, or simply because they need your guidance as they feel lost.

You never know.

That person can become the next class speaker, the next example, or the next motivation for others to continue chasing their dreams.

Because as long as you pay it forward, Spartans will.

That's about it.

Yeah, well, you can clap now.

(audience applauding) And who do I give it to now?

Am I supposed to read something?

Rachel.

(audience laughing) (audience applauding) - Geez, how do I follow that?

(chuckles) Good evening, class of 2020.

It was my job to present our class gift.

Victoria, Emilie, and I were brainstorming great ideas.

And then in mid-March, almost overnight, we went virtual as the pandemic struck.

With all the uncertainty and the financial struggles the pandemic created, it just was not the time to ask people for donations for a gift to the school.

Many people, including myself, were unsure how we were gonna pay the next few months' rent.

So instead, I wanted to use my time to thank some of the people who never gave up on us having today.

First, I would like to thank Dean Jacobs, who was the interim dean in 2020, who made it clear to us that we would have a chance to celebrate today.

This milestone.

I would also like to thank Dean Greene, who continued to uphold that promise.

I would also like to thank Dean Taylor and Rosa for answering questions, being the point of contact, and facilitating a lot of meetings.

Also thank you to our alumni board for pushing for today.

I would also like to thank my fellow class officers.

When we were elected, none of us thought that we would be continuing our duties two years after leaving MSU.

I specifically wanted to give a special thank you to Emilie.

She was the only one of the three of us who remained in Michigan after law school.

She attended alumni meetings, facilitated communication with the class and administration, and conducted countless polls, all while planning a wedding to get to today.

Finally, a thank you, (audience applauding) finally, the most important thank you is to all of you, the graduates, and of course our guests, for coming back and celebrating such an amazing accomplishment today.

I know a lot of people came from very far away.

So congratulations, class of 2020.

We finally did it.

(audience applauding) - In this morn, I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to meet this cohort of the remarkable resilient class of 2020.

I look forward to learning from them about their experiences in the practice of law, involving them in our strategic planning process that is underway to chart the future of MSU College of Law, seeing them at homecoming and on many other occasions.

Now, I am so happy to move the program along so that we can award you in person your well deserved degrees.

So now is the time.

At this time, it is my pleasure to present to you the master of laws and master of jurisprudence candidates for the graduating class of 2020.

Professor Pucillo will announce the names of the graduates.

Members of the faculty will bestow graduation hoods on our graduates.

And please feel free to applaud briefly for each candidate as the name is called.

(slow music) - [Announcer] Camilla Didone.

(audience applauding) Prachi Prakash.

(audience applauding) In memoriam, Samantha Kaiser.

(audience applauding) Emilie Kate DeRemer.

(audience applauding) Rachel Michelle Morin.

(audience applauding) Victoria Espinoza.

(audience applauding) Tomas Eduardo Porras-Acosta.

(audience applauding) Jordan Giles.

(audience applauding) Lucy Jean McManaman.

(audience applauding) Austen James Shearouse.

(audience applauding) Taylor Nicole Berry.

(audience applauding) Jamileh Naboulsi.

(audience applauding) Joshua Thall.

(audience applauding) Tyler Hunter Stahl.

(audience applauding) Tyler Roy Covell.

(audience applauding) Michael Robert Bechtel.

(audience applauding) Aaron Shi-Weng Boey.

(audience applauding) Jacob Hoeferkamp.

(audience applauding) Michael Thomas Sangster.

(audience applauding) Sarah Jean Daguno Pineda.

(audience applauding) Alexandra Elizabeth Wolf.

(audience applauding) Lindsay Poetz.

(audience applauding) Brianna Kathleen Loder.

(audience applauding) Kirsten Jane Zook.

(audience applauding) Makayla Bendele.

(audience applauding) Erika Christine Hahne.

(audience applauding) Ashley A. Poindexter.

(audience applauding) Nicholas Patrick Hall.

(audience applauding) Anthony Squadrilla.

(audience applauding) Adam Gabay.

(audience applauding) Ross William March-Meenagh.

(audience applauding) Matthew David Staples.

(audience applauding) Danielle Marie Paglia.

(audience applauding) Abigail Grace Tepper.

(audience applauding) Gabrielle Christine Davis.

(audience applauding) Dakota Michael Offman.

(audience applauding) Wesam Jihad Shahed.

(audience applauding) Alexandra Page.

(audience applauding) Jacob Graham Lyday.

(audience applauding) Megan Alyse Bauer.

(audience applauding) Bria Adderley-Williams.

(audience applauding) Alise Sabra Hildreth.

(audience applauding) James Joseph Fleming.

(audience applauding) Emily Jenks.

(audience applauding) Rachel Elise Young.

(audience applauding) Joseph Jared Hardy.

(audience applauding) Hannah Buzolits.

(audience applauding) Emily Paski.

(audience applauding) Danielle Elizabeth Jones.

(audience applauding) Nicole Walker.

(audience applauding) Elizabeth Marie Chirco.

(audience applauding) Kelsey Lugin.

(audience applauding) Kaitlin Gant.

(audience applauding) Sarah Kay Zlotnicki.

(audience applauding) Kathryn Irene Petersen.

(audience applauding) Yasmeen Farran Mohamad.

(audience applauding) Nancy Gadallah.

(audience applauding) Ronald Josue Blanco.

(audience applauding) - [Man] Nothing yet.

- Ah, hello, there it is, hey.

I now ask all of the masters of laws and masters of jurisprudence candidates to rise for the confirmant of the degree.

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees of Michigan State University, and by the statutes of the state of Michigan, I confer upon each of you the degree of masters of laws and masters of jurisprudence and declare that you are ready to aid in the shaping and application of those wise restraints which make us free.

Thank you, you may be seated.

Congratulations.

(audience applauding) I now ask all of the juris doctor candidates to rise for the confirmant of your degrees.

Chairperson and members of the board of trustees, I present to you the juris doctor graduating class of 2020.

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees of the Michigan State University College of Law, and by the statutes of the state of Michigan, I confer upon each of you the degree of juris doctor and declare that you are ready to aid in the shaping and application of those wise restraints which make us free.

Thank you, you may be seated, and congratulations.

(audience applauding) Friends and family, thank you for joining us this afternoon as we celebrate the achievements of our graduates.

Graduates, you may have already begun to celebrate, but it's official now.

But it's not just your opportunity to celebrate.

You and all of those who supported and empowered you also deserve to celebrate.

A universal proverb says that if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together, and you have lived it.

Although it has been just less than a year, you have my very, very sincere gratitude for the privilege of being your dean.

The future of our profession is in excellent hands.

Your entire law school, faculty, staff, trustees cannot wait to hear about your accomplishments in the years to come.

On behalf of the entire law school community, accept our congratulations and good wishes.

Please join me in one last round of applause for the class of 2020.

(audience applauding) The platform party will now recess, followed by the graduates.

By way of stage directions, for those of you on stage, we will recess in exactly the opposite order in which we process.

We ask the audience to please remain seated until the platform party and all the graduates have left the arena.

Please meet your graduates in the Hall of History, where there is space to mingle and to take pictures and continue your celebration.

Thank you.

(audience applauding) ("Celebration") ♪ Yahoo ♪ ♪ This is your celebration ♪ ♪ Yahoo ♪ ♪ This is your celebration ♪ ♪ Celebrate good times, come on ♪ ♪ Let's celebrate ♪ ♪ Celebrate good times, come on ♪ ♪ Let's celebrate ♪ ♪ There's a party going on right here ♪ ♪ A celebration to last throughout the years ♪ ♪ So bring your good times and your laughter too ♪ ♪ We gonna celebrate your party with you, come on ♪ ♪ Celebration ♪ ♪ Let's all celebrate and have a good time ♪ ♪ Celebration ♪ ♪ We gonna celebrate and have a good time ♪ ♪ It's time to come together ♪ ♪ It's up to you ♪ ♪ What's your pleasure ♪ ♪ Everyone around the world, come on ♪ ♪ Yahoo ♪ ♪ It's a celebration ♪ ♪ Yahoo ♪ ♪ Celebrate good times, come on ♪ ♪ It's a celebration ♪ ♪ Celebrate good times, come on ♪ ♪ Let's celebrate ♪ ♪ There's a party going on right here ♪ ♪ A dedication to last throughout the years ♪ ♪ So bring your good times and your laughter too ♪ ♪ We gonna celebrate ♪