Commencement address Ave Maria School of Law: May 13, 2007.

• Author: Gallagher, Judith C.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and to all of our mothers here who, with our dads, were vital in our reaching this day. And, of course, our sincere gratitude to the husbands, wives, and children of the graduates for their constant love and support.

Honorable Judge Janice Rogers Brown, Mr. Monaghan, Members of the Board of Governors, Dean Dobranski, our distinguished faculty and administration, family and friends, and the Class of 2007:

In the inaugural issue of the Ave Maria Law Review in 2003, one of the contributors wrote:

It will surprise no one that a necessary precondition to membership in the law professoriate is the conviction that students are wrong on just about everything. That said, however, I think the students who chose Ave Maria over other law school options were right: there is indeed something special about this new experiment in legal education. (1) And today, before you, these graduates are living proof of the success of this new experiment in legal education. Ave Maria sends forth into the world 123 lawyers who have, for the last three years, been exploring law in ways no other law students were able. We engaged not only in the study of the rule of law, but we were challenged to understand the intellectual, philosophical, and moral foundations that are intimately connected to any legal system. We were challenged as well to strive for our full potential in an educational atmosphere that prides itself on educating the whole person. We graduate having received the training necessary to be lawyers of professional distinction, possessing not only the finest legal research and writing skills and knowledge about civil procedure minimum contacts but, unlike many of our legal counterparts, also being grounded in traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. And more importantly, this school has succeeded because we have grown into a community under Fides et Ratio. (2) Community is what shapes us, and here at Ave Maria we have been shaped in a community of faith and reason, and also of love. This community provided an academically rigorous environment in the Catholic intellectual tradition where we were constantly challenged, both academically and spiritually, and simultaneously loved. We were loved because we were surrounded by people who understand what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God.

My dear classmates, having experienced three years of intense study and numerous moments of frustration, anxiety...