<p>So glad you had a good time, kelsmom, and keeping my fingers crossed regarding your D’s interview. </p>
<p>My experience was a little more subdued since S was graduating from the law school. He was a participant in the capstone program, so we had a reception for that Thursday afternoon and then an open house for all law grads and their families. We got the chance to meet his girlfriend’s family there and at dinner Thursday evening, which added to the fun. </p>
<p>I had debated going to Alumni Lawn before the hooding and diplomas at Curry Field for law grads, but as soon as they moved it indoors, I knew I would be just as content to watch the video later. I still remember how hot the gym was in 2009 and how exhausting it was to sit on the bleacher side with nothing for back support. S and girlfriend did go, but most of the law grads remained at the law school awaiting the beginning of their ceremony at 10:30. We were able to get good seats and had a good view of the procession for their ceremony. Even though it was much smaller than the whole university ceremony, with the music by the brass ensemble and the procession of faculty and grads, I still got choked up. </p>
<p>Daniel Sharfstein, the faculty speaker, was selected by the law school grads and he gave as good a graduation speech as I have ever heard. The right mix of humor and wisdom in 10 minutes or less. Some humor was definitely in order as we had heard similar speeches recapping this class of J.D.s unique challenges on both Thursday from a faculty speaker and on Friday from the dean. As they said, this class entered law school in August of 2008 with expectations that 95% of the class would be graduating with prestigious clerkships and/or multiple offers from big law with attractive salaries. A month later that all changed as law firms began massive layoffs and the recovery is still slow. 1L and 2L summer positions were difficult to find, so much so that many of them as 1Ls worked without pay just for the experience. The class also lost a professor and their student bar association president in the last year.</p>
<p>As always, reading the profiles of the Founders Medal recipients made me think that if we put that group of young people in a room together, they could solve most of the world’s problems!</p>