Connected Minds,Connected Cultures:\ Connected Minds

S U P R E M E A D V I C E“The things that call out mostloudly for our attention on adaily basis are not necessarily thethings that are most important,the things that matterthe most in the long run.”Appointed to the Supreme Court in 2006 byPresident George W. Bush, Justice Alito continued themetaphor for the students, remarking that the FoundingFathers’ willingness to trust in human decency, and theirrefusal to attempt to micromanage national affairs via theConstitution, displayed an optimism that is also essentialfor a successful approach to life.“As you graduates leave here today, I hope that youhave this optimism and this openness to change becausewe live in a time of great change whether we like it or not,a time of change for our country and for our world andfor the way in which we live our lives on a daily basis andsurely for the legal profession,” he said. Justice Alito wasawarded the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, byCatholic University prior to his commencement speech.Catholic University’s president, Very Rev. DavidM. O’Connell, also offered advice, insight and wellearnedpraise during the law school’s 119 th annualcommencement, held during a perfect spring dayunder sunny skies and gentle breezes.“Your intentions must be honorable. Your integritymust be beyond reproach. Your authenticity must shinebefore others. Why? Because that is what the Lord asksof you. That is his vision and his view of the person, ofthe Christian, of the lawyer that you are and must be,”said O’Connell.The address on behalf of the graduates was givenby Katherine Acuff, after an introduction by outgoingStudent Bar Association President Sean Murphy.On a picture-perfect spring day, nearly 300 graduatesin the Class of 2008 were ushered into the next phaseof their lives with encouraging words from theirdean and their commencement speaker.Spring–Summer 2008 / C UALAWYER 21