Honored Dean, Distinguished Members of the Faculty, The Honorable Judge Garner, Alumni, Fellow Students, Family and Friends, and, of course, Fellow Graduates of the Class of 2007:

I am truly honored to be speaking here tonight on behalf of the Student Bar Association as its President.

It seems only yesterday that we all entered the First Year classroom for the first time looking around trying to find the best seats, sizing each other up.  Trying to figure out just exactly what they meant by briefing a case and wondering, “if it is called a brief why does it take so long?”

That first year, we were introduced to an older lady named Palzgraff; we learned about Hadley v Baxendale and most importantly we learned that there is no extradition from Ecuador.  You never know when that could come in handy . . .

Over these last 4 years, I have said on many occasions that law school is a whole lot like dipping sheep. 

Now if you have never heard this story or if you have never dipped sheep, what you do is dig a big hole and fill it with sheep dip.  You gather all of the sheep at one side.  Then you gently urge them into the pool of dip and encourage them to walk to the other side.

Now some of the sheep will just jump in without looking, some will need a little prodding.  And of course there are always a few who think they know better and they charge off in the wrong direction. 

Now eventually the shepherds will corral all of the wayward sheep get all of them going in the right direction and our shepherds, the Professors, Mentors and Proctors eventually got all of us going in the right direction.  Of course it took some of us longer to get there, but we all got there.

That because unlike many law schools ours has a collaborative environment.  Everyone at the school was quite helpful and more than willing to help each and every one of us to succeed.  We had upper class students assigned to us as Mentors.  They held tutoring sessions on Saturdays for us.  The Professors were all willing to review our essays and to show us how we could improve.  In other words, they were all right there in that dip with us.

As they urged us forward through the dip, there is one thing that I will never forget.  They all, without exception, kept telling us that it was “doable.” 

When we faced our first MidTerm, they told us was “doable,” when we faced our first Final they told us was “doable” and of course when we had to take the infamous Baby Bar, they told us it was “doable.” 

That became our mantra, no matter what we faced over these last 4 years, it was always “doable.”  Well, as we sit on this stage tonight we are living proof that they were right, it was in fact “doable”!!

You know, the trick to a good sheep dip is that they never see it coming.  The further the sheep goes, the deeper they get.  The dip comes up to their knees, hips, shoulders, until eventually each and every one of their little heads will disappear under the dip and just as sure each and every one of their little heads will pop right back up. 

It happened at different times for each of us, but it happened to all of us.  That moment when just like the sheep, we were in over our heads.  And just like the sheep, that moment passed.  All the while we were told, it was “doable”.

There is another saying that we picked up as we went along. This one was much more subtle, but I think equally as important.  It was, “How can I help you?”  Throughout the 4 years, life happened.  For some of us, it was work sending them to places like China, San Francisco and Tennessee.  Others got engaged, while others got married.  Still others had parents who got sick and needed to be taken care of.  Some of us even faced grave illness, myself included.  For me, I got breast cancer last summer and absolutely thought about quitting, but didn’t when my classmates ask, “How can I help you?”  It was then, I knew I could finish this.

We created a safe and nurturing haven in that dip.  We shared our notes, study materials and thoughts.  We helped each other through, and we became friends.

Through the 4 years, just like the sheep we kept putting one foot in front of the other. We got through our First Year, we passed the Baby Bar,  we continued on through our Second, Third and Fourth Years. 

Until eventually we noticed that the dip started to get lower and lower and the journey became familiar and even just a little easier in fact we got into a comfortable rhythm.  And before we knew it we found that we had reached the other side.

And still, I hear my classmates ask each other, “How can I help you?”  This one motto is what makes Pacific Coast University School of Law different from other law schools and one of the important things that what makes PCU graduates unique, their willingness to ask. “How can I help you?”  Just like the PCU alumni that went before us, I believe we will continue this tradition and help each other throughout our law careers.

Of course, once the sheep steps out of the pool of dip, sheep being sheep they will instinctively try and shake the dip off, but dip being dip, it sticks.  So here’s hoping that enough dip sticks to us so that we all will pass the General Bar on our very first try!

And on that note, I would like the take this moment now to leave a freshbottle of Sheep Dip with the Dean for the next class ! !

On behalf of my class, our heartfelt thanks to all who have helped us achieve what was once only a dream.

AND

Congratulations to the Graduates of the Class of 2007, it was doable and we did it!!!!