As members of the Class of 2023 marched to their seats during Northeastern University Law School's commencement ceremony at Matthews Arena on Friday, the jubilant audience cheered and gave them a standing ovation.
He soon reminded the graduates that their degrees come with great expectations.
“Having a law degree is an accomplishment,” he said James Hackneyits dean Law School“but it is also an obligation.”
Low morality and “gross abuse of power” threaten American society and democracy, he said.
“It's your job to advance the public good, whether through full-time advocacy or critical volunteer work,” Hackney continued.
Almost 300 students completed their studies at the Law School this year. Hackney praised them for taking the risk and earning their degrees during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Class of 2023 completed 350,000 hours of legal work in 706 co-op placements that took students to 29 states and five countries. They also devoted more than 140,000 hours to public interest cooperatives.
“It's one of the reasons we remain unparalleled among law schools dedicated to public interest law,” Hackney said.
Embracing the racial assessment of the past three years, graduates engaged with the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Clinic, the Center for Law, Equity and Race, and the Center for Advocacy and Public Interest Partnerships at Northeastern.
Professor Daniel Medved, a leading criminal law authority, greeted the graduates on behalf of the faculty. His message may have come as a surprise to some.
“I want you to fail, often and spectacularly,” Medwed said.
He explained that every failure helps a lawyer become better, wiser and stronger as a lawyer and lawyer.
Corey Thomas delivered the opening address. He is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Rapid7, a leading cybersecurity solutions company based in Boston.
“We need your big heart, your experience and your bold dreams,” said Thomas, a member of the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee and president-elect of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
The Class of 2023 will have to navigate big changes involving artificial intelligence, politics and climate. But the ability of individuals to adapt to change, Thomas said, depends on the health, strength and quality of American institutions and systems.
“And let's face it, our current institutions are not up to the challenge,” said Thomas, who founded the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund, a coalition of Black and Brown Massachusetts executives focused on addressing systemic racism and racial inequality in Massachusetts.
Society needs young lawyers to be gardeners, fixers and coordinators, he said, who will make business, government, civic and nonprofit institutions not only efficient, but also trustworthy.
“We need those who stretch boundaries, expand relationships, negotiate and reconcile conflicting ideas,” Thomas said. “We need you to invest deeply in building our institutional capacity.”
While this role can be difficult, Thomas assured the graduates that they won't be doing it alone.
“We're all going to work together on this,” he said.
Professor David Madigan presented Thomas with a citation for his “visionary leadership in building a transformative innovation company that makes an impact by empowering people and communities”.
Class of 2023 student speakers Obioma Okonkwo and Maya Marie Hill spoke movingly about their journeys through law school and the communities they now belong to.
Okonkwo, who is from Nigeria and represented Master of Laws graduates, studied intellectual property and innovation law while at Northeastern. She said her classmates were some of the strongest, smartest, most resourceful and resilient people in the world. The LL.M. graduates, according to Hackney, came from countries such as Azerbaijan, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Peru and Saudi Arabia, among others.
“Our experiences, shared and unique, brought us together,” Okonkwo said. “We have gained something truly invaluable: a global network of friends, colleagues and future changers.”
She told her classmates they now have the skills to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
“I am incredibly proud and honored to have met each and every one of you,” Okonkwo said.
Hill, who graduated with a Juris Doctor degree, said one of the most important things graduates gained from their time at Northeastern is a community.
“Everywhere I turned, every time I almost fell, there was a community of people ready to pick me up, dust me off and help me try again,” she said.
Hill urged her classmates to continue building communities and choosing compassion, despite the divisive political landscape.
Alena Kuzub is a reporter for Northeastern Global News. Email her at a.kuzub@northeastern.edu. Follow her on Twitter @AlenaKuzub.
