Southern Fall/Winter 2022

As Jennifer Lee Commander recounts her life
between college, law school, and her career as an
attorney, Birmingham-Southern always finds a way
into the story. She has learned that alumni are quick
to support each other when they recognize their BSC
connections – a thoughtful and encouraging quality she
saw on the Hilltop as soon as she arrived.
“Birmingham-Southern showed me that I could come
here and be an athlete, get involved in Greek life, excel in
academics, and still be very successful, and they would
support me along the way in every endeavor I pursued,”
Commander says.
Commander played golf all four years at BSC while
double majoring in English and Spanish and staying
involved in other student activities. She knew early on
as a student that she wanted to go to law school, leading
her to earn her J.D. from Washington & Lee University
School of Law.
Upon graduation from law school Commander made an
important BSC connection in Andy Robison ’99, partner
at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, who introduced
Commander to the firm where she spent six years as an
attorney. At Bradley, she also met Denson D.N. Franklin
III ’85, and Franklin became an important mentor for
Commander early in her career. Now, they work together
at Vulcan Materials, Commander as attorney and
assistant corporate secretary, and Franklin as senior vice
president and general counsel.
“I didn’t overlap with Andy or D. at Birmingham-
Southern, but they are examples of why alums think
BSC is a very special place,” she says. “I don’t think I
appreciated until I was in law school just how much BSC
meant to alums and how much they would go to bat for
fellow alums.”
In her 10 years since leaving the Hilltop, Commander
has been a leader in her field and community. She served
as editor-in-chief of the Washington & Lee Law Review,
graduated at the top of her class, served as the president
of the Young Alumni Council at BSC, and has excelled in
her role as an attorney.
Above everything else, however, is her proudest
accomplishment – when she and her husband, Keith Gray
’10, adopted their son, Avi (known as “V”), in 2021. She
sees BSC as a part of that story, too.
“In a lot of ways, it goes back to a conversation at the
fountain outside of Norton that still stands today, when
I told Keith that I knew I felt called to adopt someday,”
Commander says. “V is the most resilient person I know,
and we’re so proud to be his parents.”
“I don’t think I appreciated
until I was in law school
just how much BSC meant
to alums and how much
they would go to bat for
fellow alums.”
OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNA
Jennifer Lee Commander ’12
20
22
FALL/WINTER 2022 / 57