Dean Houck, thank you for that kind introduction. I also want to thank the administration, faculty, staff and alumni that have built Penn State Law into a premier academic institution. And to my fellow Nittany Lions, the Class of 2016, congratulations. You did it!
It is great to be back in State College. This is a wonderful place. The beauty, the excitement, the diversity, the football. It has everything.
I was raised about 170 miles from here in Nemacolin. Listen, I love my hometown. Coal country instilled in me a core set of values. Toughness. Work ethic. Sacrifice. But I’ll be honest, Greene County, Pennsylvania isn’t exactly a happening place. When I was growing up, people looked the same and acted the same and did the same jobs. Like many small communities in America, there was a need to fit in.
Penn State was different. I was able to meet students from all over the country and the world. Many are still my friends today. Issues were debated passionately. Groupthink was frowned upon. Happy Valley brought together a broad array of ideas and experiences. It was truly liberating.
I didn’t just make great connections at Penn State, I also found my love of learning. I was taught by some of the greatest instructors in the world. I’ve been hooked on the Civil War ever since I took a history class here. And Professor Heitman became my advisor and friend. That was over 40 years ago.
So as you head off to your next adventure, I want you to remember how special this place is. Don’t ever take it for granted. Penn State is a family. And I am incredibly proud to call you brothers and sisters.
Now, I have a confession to make: I got my law degree from Villanova. And I am not currently a practicing attorney. If you’ve read my biography, you know that I am president of the AFL-CIO. Our federation represents 56 unions and 12.5 million workers—from teachers and electricians to engineers and professional athletes.
So how did I get from Nemacolin to the head of the labor movement? It all started when I was twelve years old.
One night, I was sitting on my grandfather’s porch. He was a coal miner. So was my father. And eventually, so was I. Around this time, the mine workers were in the midst of a brutal strike. I was complaining to my granddad about how badly they were being treated.
So he asked me what I planned to do about it. “When I grow up, I could be a politician,” I said. He playfully smacked me across the back of the head. Clearly, I needed to come up with a better answer. “I could become a lawyer and stand up for workers’ rights.” Jackpot. My grandfather then said something that has stuck with me ever since. “If you want to help workers, you first need to help people.”
And that is the message I want to share with you today. You have an extraordinary opportunity and responsibility to use your law degree as a force for moral good.
In last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the following: “The nature of injustice is that we may not always see it in our times. The generations that wrote and ratified the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment did not presume to know the extent of freedom in all its dimensions. So they entrusted to future generations a charge protecting all persons to enjoy liberty as we learn its meaning.”
That is now your charge.
Make no mistake, it won’t be easy. A law degree is not an automatic ticket to success. You will soon enter an extremely competitive job market. Many of you have student loans to pay off. There is the bar exam. Early on, it may seem overwhelming.
Don’t be discouraged. You worked your tail off to get here. The greatest reward for hard work is the opportunity to serve others. The harder you work, the more opportunities you’ll have. In the end, activism will erase your debts and fill your hearts.
Wherever you end up, the skills you learned in law school will prove invaluable. I came from a coal mine, but the legal education I received has made it possible for me to represent working people effectively in front of U.S. Senators and cabinet secretaries and at international forums.
Your challenge is to use these skills to make the world a better place in your own way. I got my start helping coal miners win fair pay, good benefits and a secure retirement.
For you, it will likely be something different. Perhaps you want to be an advocate for victims of domestic violence. Maybe your mission is to make our immigration system fairer and more just. You could serve in government, become an educator, practice corporate law, open your own firm or do pro bono work for a cause you believe in. The options are endless.
Let me give you one dramatic example.
Betty Anne Waters went to law school in order to exonerate her brother for a murder he did not commit. Waters was a waitress and had only a high school equivalency when she began taking night classes at the Community College of Rhode Island and eventually the Roger Williams University School of Law, all while raising two kids. The process took nearly 20 years.
But Waters not only got her JD, she uncovered DNA evidence that authorities claimed had been destroyed, convinced the Innocence Project to take the case, persuaded witnesses to recant their testimony and successfully had her brother’s sentence overturned.
Her incredible journey was featured in the film Conviction. Waters’ courage and perseverance is a reminder that law school is what you make of it. So I encourage you to start thinking about writing your own story.
I also want to stress the importance of ethics. Former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do, and what is right to do.
There are some in the legal world who think it is somehow noble to represent the rich and powerful against the poor and voiceless.
Don’t ever lose sight of the fact that you choose your clients. And you get to decide whether to practice law in a way that upholds justice, or thwarts it.
There are going to be times when a superior or a client tells you to cross the line. If you listen, it may help advance your career in the short term. What will you do in that moment? You can either take the path that is easy. Or you can make the hard decision to do the right thing, even if it costs you a promotion in the process.
As I said before, the temptation to let your guard down will be great. More money. More power. A corner office. But at what cost?
When I graduated law school, I immediately received job offers from the coal industry. They rolled out the red carpet. They wanted to use my talent and experience to increase their bottom line—and mine—at the expense of workers. I couldn’t do it. No amount of money can make up for not being able to look at yourself in the mirror.
You will face your own hard choices. There will be opportunities to get ahead by helping those who are greedy or morally bankrupt. Don’t do it. Have the courage to say no. Apply the logic and tactics you learned in law school to choose a path that is just. Speak truth to power, not just in defense of your clients, but to your colleagues who push you to cross the line “just a little bit.” Remember, every time you cross the line “just a little bit,” the line moves further and further away from what is right.
I also want you to keep in mind that there is work and there is life. You have to give both the proper attention. There will be a demand for billable hours and long trips and late nights at the office. Never forget to make time for the people you love—your parents, siblings, friends, significant others and most of all, your children. To the family members here today: look after these graduates. Continue to give them your support. They will look to you for guidance and understanding in the stressful days ahead.
Let me close by talking about a past commencement address here at Penn State. In 1955, President Dwight Eisenhower said and I quote: “The divisions between us are artificial and transient. Our common humanity is God-made and enduring.”
The divisions Eisenhower described 61 years ago persist today. We are bitterly divided politically. You just have to turn on cable or check Facebook to see that. America is growing ever more unequal economically. The gap between the rich and the poor has never been wider. More and more of us work harder and harder and yet remain mired in economic insecurity.
Too many of our leaders seek to divide us on the basis of gender, race, religion and sexual orientation, in brazen plays for power, fame and fortune.
But I believe Eisenhower’s broader message still rings true today. Neither God nor nature divides us. Human beings built the walls that separate us. And we can tear them down. We share a desire for economic advancement. We all want the right to live well and raise our families in peace and security, no matter where we live or what we look like. Each of us yearns for the opportunity to reach our potential. These hopes and dreams are captured by the words engraved on the front of the Supreme Court: Equal Justice Under Law.
As the next generation of lawyers, you can challenge the forces that seek to tear us apart. You can help bring us together. You can advance justice, expand freedom and promote fairness. You can do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons. You can take the education you received here and apply it to real problems. Poverty, violence, racism, inequality, you name it. The world is now your courtroom.
As President Eisenhower said, our common humanity is God-made and enduring. And so is our obligation to each other. So get out there and make us proud.
We are … crowd responds Penn State.
We are … crowd responds Penn State.
We are … crowd responds Penn State.
Thank you very much.