Commencement 2024: 'Dream in the future, live in the moment'
On Sunday, May 12, Emory University School of Law graduated more than 300 students during ceremonies held at the Gas South Convention Center in Duluth. They earned doctor of juridical science, juris doctor, master of laws, and juris master degrees. This was the last time Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Mary Anne Bobinski will preside over graduation as dean, as she closes her tenure and returns to faculty this summer.
Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law and dean designate Richard D. Freer received the Most Outstanding Professor Award for the eleventh time, an honor which is bestowed by 3Ls each year. He addressed the Class of 2024:
“Years ago, you had a dream of going to law school. But you did not jump from that moment to this day. Earning your law degree is not an event, it’s a culmination of thousands of decisions and thousands of actions,” Freer said. “You got here incrementally—case by case, question by question, class by class. And that’s the way it is all through life—our greatest accomplishments are rooted in individual moments and in those moments, we have a choice, and we choose to pursue the goal, pursue the dream. And when you put all of those moments, all of those choices together, you build something truly significant, which is exactly what you have done. We realize our goals by building what I call a bridge of days. We dream in the future, but we live in the moment.”
Other outstanding students and faculty received awards and special recognition:
- Associate Professor George S. Georgiev, Provost’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Education
- Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Fred Smith Jr., Faculty Marshal
- Sam Donaldson, Distinguished Adjunct Teaching Award
- Ryan Levin 24L, Most Outstanding Third-Year Student
- Sydney Annette McCabe 24L, Student Marshal (highest GPA)
- Morieka Valencia Johnson 94C 24L, Juris Master Leadership Award
- Pamela Bispo da Silva 23L, Master of Laws Leadership Award
The A. James Elliott Community Service Award was poignant as Emory Law mourns the loss of the associate dean emeritus who passed away earlier this year. Nikki Nicole Hurtado 24L and Saaby Simon 24L were 2024 recipients.
Ryan Levin 24L served as Student Bar Association president at the same time his father, Ian Levin 92L, served as chair of Emory Law’s Advisory Board.
“These are your strongest relationships, and they do not end here today,” Levin told his classmates. “They will forever be the lifelines out in our professional and our personal lives. Even if we go up against each other in court or the conference room, we will share those bonds,” he added. “And now, it’s time for your next adventure. And even if that means you have no idea what you’re going to do tomorrow—well, isn’t that exciting?”