University of Richmond School of Law graduates told authentic success means finding and following your true passion
May 12, 2007
Authentic success is having the insight and courage to follow one's true passion Robin Robertson Starr told 166 graduates of University of Richmond School of Law today as they prepared to receive their juris doctor degrees.
Starr knows what she is talking about. After graduating from Richmond Law, she became a corporate lawyer with A.H. Robins Co. and then spent 12 years as an attorney with Williams Mullen, where she was a partner. However, in 1997, she decided to follow her lifelong dream of working with animals and became CEO of the Richmond SPCA.
"Finding your own true passion is hard work," she said. "There is no manual, template or on-board navigation system." The truly lucky, she said, find their passion when they are young. Others find it as a second career, and some never find it.
"In 1997 I decided to devote the remainder of my working life to what I loved" in spite of negative reactions from colleagues and friends. In her decade of service, Richmond SPCA has become a national model of best practices for humane societies.
She urged graduates to "stop carrying around the weight of other peoples' expectations" and set aside gender roles and stereotypes. "Do the work of your heart and your soul." She advised graduates to "stop worrying about peer assessment of the value of what you do" and "insist on having sole custody of your life."
"If you're lucky, what is to come in your life will be nothing like what you expect it to be."
Student speaker Justin Fulton of Rustburg, Va., told his fellow graduates that there are never enough great lawyers. "We have a responsibility to help others," he said. "No previous generation has had the tools we have at our disposal." He advised his classmates to respond, to inspire and "Let us lead by example."
The Hon. Donald W. Lemons, justice of the Virginia Supreme Court and John Marshall Professor of Judicial Studies, addressed graduates as the faculty speaker. He urged them to return an ethic of civility to the law. "Freedom survives in civility," he said. Their aim should be "to lift the profession to higher standards." It is the privilege and duty of law, he said, "to serve your community."
Jennifer Becker of Richmond, Va., received The Nina R. Kestin Service Award, given to the graduate who has contributed most significantly to the school, the community and the legal profession.
Michael Clements of Washington, Pa., received The Charles T. Norman Award for the best all-around graduating senior.
The university will award degrees from the School of Arts and Sciences, Robins School of Business and Jepson School of Leadership Studies May 13 at 2 p.m. in the Robins Center.