I recently was honored to give the commencement address at the December 2010 South Texas College of Law Houston graduation. One of the areas I talked about was giving back to the community using the law degree that was to be awarded. Here is a part of that address:
Now, you cannot just rest on your laurels. All of your hard work so far to obtain your law degree has netted you an even greater tool. A tool of empowerment. Whether you become a practicing lawyer, or go into business, sales, teaching or other profession, you have unique training that allows you to transcend your current individual success, and now become an influential voice in our society. I encourage you not only seize opportunities to positively affect the lives of many, but seek out and create your own opportunities to become more successful and more valuable to the world we live in.
As graduates of this law school, you now have not only the ability, but also the credibility to take on the responsibility to seek out ways to serve others, strengthen our justice system, and lead this generation out of the unprecedented challenges and uncertainties that now face. And it doesn’t have to be necessarily in the area you’re most comfortable. For me, right now, it is outside the area of tort law.