Speech at SLS class of 2024 gala dinner

Good evening,

First of all, I want to say a massive thank you for asking me to give this speech. I really don’t take it for granted, but I must also confess that I would be hurt if you hadn’t selected me :D

I would be hurt because you’re a very special class to me. You were the first class I ever taught right after I got my master’s degree. During the strange times of COVID we had Constitutional Law online and then History of Ideas in the auditorium every week. And then there was the terror of Advanced Legal Research & Writing. You remember that? Good times :p

I’m almost certain no other class I’ve taught has had to read as much as you did when I taught you or gone through the kinds of cold calling that you went through. But you came through, and you came through well. So huge huge congratulations from my colleagues and I. Please clap for yourselves.

In recent years I’ve met some people who don’t seem particularly excited about graduating with their undergrad degrees and I’ve always told them that you only graduate with your undergrad degree once in your life!! And this is a big achievement. I’m sure most of you had to go through at least a bunch of struggles to reach here. For others, it was endless struggles. But you made it! So please savor the moment. Celebrate, plan parties and go for parties. Give each other many hugs and gifts. You deserve it.

I was also asked to prepare some advice for you and I happily obliged. You’ll hear so much advice in the next few weeks so I’m going to focus on the kind of advice that, from my experience, you’ll hear rarely. I have three pieces of advice.

The first is to show enthusiasm for the kind of work you want to do. I think it’s underrated how consequential showing a deep interest and excitement in a subject can be when it comes to opening up opportunities. I’ve worked with many research rookies now and I have to say, it makes a real difference to me when someone shows enthusiasm for the work we do. That doesn’t mean having a smiling face all the time or expressing yourself in a high voice when you’re talking about the subject. I think it’s deeper than that — it could be about showing that you’ve done a lot of extra work to study the subject for yourself, for example. It could also be about asking to join sessions that you wouldn’t ordinarily be invited into or occasionally volunteering to do extra work. Basically, all unusually positive demonstrations of interest could count for a lot.

My second piece of advice is about convention. When you think about it carefully, it’s interesting how much people’s lives are governed by convention. Many people often just do things because — well — that’s what you’re supposed to do. You know: Finish undergrad, look for a law firm internship, go to School of Law and finish that, get a high-ranking corporate position, maybe do a master’s degree, and so on and so forth. They even follow an order. And it’s not just a thing in professional life. It also happens all the time in personal life decision-making. Now I’m not saying that going with the grain is necessarily wrong. Of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong about doing something many other people usually do. Rather, I’m suggesting that you should take your time to reflect on your decisions carefully, especially big decisions like what kind of work you want to do, where you’d like to work, what kind of person you’d like to be with, and so on and so forth. Your life right now is full of possibility. Don’t just do something because that’s what it looks like you’re supposed to do. Be thoughtful and be courageous, especially about the big decisions of your life.

The final piece of advice I have for you is to involve yourself in many things that are bigger than you, your personal interests or the interests of a friend or family member. By the way, doing this is also in your own interest. To make your life less hollow, it is useful to involve yourself in stuff that requires you to give your intellect, your emotional bandwidth, your time or your money for the sake of people who you have no relations with. For example, you can donate your money regularly when that becomes possible or you can take part in community service often. I’m also very passionate about civic action so I will finish with that. Lawyers, who you will be in a week, are ideally placed to protect our democracy and fight for good governance. This past week we’ve seen the eruption of a political awareness like no other among people your age in this country. I was so inspired to see so many of you, some who I previously thought were really mild-mannered, joining the fray. I hope that everyone else among you will also get active. Don’t be left behind. You have something that can help, including your voice in any medium. Don’t let people say that Strath kids are detached from reality. Join your fellow young people and fight for some good.

Let me finish by saying congratulations once again. I’m extremely proud of you and can’t wait to see what you’ll do with your lives. I wish you many, many blessings.