AUWCL Celebrates 2020 Graduates with Live Zoom Commencement Celebration
Dec. 16, 2020
On Sunday, Dec. 13, American University Washington College of Law held a live commencement celebration on Zoom to honor its 2020 graduates.
Associate Dean of Student Affairs David Jaffe welcomed attendees to the celebration, which included commencement addresses from Acting Dean Robert Dinerstein and Spring 2020 graduate Cassandra Monahan, as well as a reading of each graduate’s name. The celebration took place following American University’s Fall Commencement, which featured an address from Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent and Host of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
Watch the Commencement Celebration
In his remarks, Dinerstein encouraged graduates to take heart of the law school’s motto, “Champion What Matters,” by ensuring their careers stand for something bigger than themselves.
“Whether that is increasing justice for marginalized communities, being an antiracist, helping government processes work as they were intended, or facilitating the business of law in a manner that serves the legitimate interests of one’s clients – I have ever confidence you will be successful in your careers, and I also have every confidence that you will not forget your time here at WCL,” Dinerstein said. “And now that you are about to, or recently have, joined the ranks of our alumni, know that we will not forget you.”
Monahan said the resilience shown by her peers over their time in law school has only helped them grow as future lawyers, bound to do great things.
“In the face of uncertainty, the WCL community has kept us afloat. This journey has been difficult for all of us in deeply personal ways. But I hope we leave this school and enter the legal profession full of integrity, passion, and the desire to keep learning for others every day,” she said. “I am so excited to see where our legal careers take us, to read your names in law review articles and in the news, and to argue with, against, and before you. Congratulations Class of 2020 – we finally did it.”