ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan blended a good mix of humor and wisdom Saturday for graduates of the University of New Mexico law school in her first public address since being sworn in last summer.
Kagan traveled to Albuquerque to give the commencement address to the graduating class of about 100. She noted that it was her first commencement address as a justice of any kind and her first at a law school other than Harvard.
Her message was simple: "Be proud of what you have done, be passionate about what you will do and whatever you do, wherever you do it, find a way to give back," she told the graduates before congratulating each one personally with hugs and handshakes.
Kagan was invited to speak by UNM law school dean Kevin Washburn, who spent a year as a visiting professor at Harvard during Kagan's tenure there. It was the way Washburn talked about his students that made the justice nostalgic for her former life as a law school professor.
Kagan asked the graduates to indulge her as she spent some time reliving that former life.
"So class," she began, sparking giggles from the graduates before continuing with what she promised would be their "last law school lecture."
Between the jokes, Kagan told the graduates they should have no ambivalence toward thinking and speaking like lawyers despite the occasional consternation of their family and friends. Thinking like a lawyer means thinking with precision and clarity and understanding that the world is not black and white, she said.
"The world is in fact a complicated place and on many questions only those who perceive it that way can make any progress," she said.
A New York native, Kagan became the Supreme Court's 112th justice and the fourth woman ever to serve on the court when she was sworn in last August.
She is a former Harvard Law School dean who most recently was solicitor general. Her work at the Justice Department has forced her to remove herself from some cases that have come before the court during its recent term.
Kagan also worked in the Clinton administration and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
"The secret is I can't keep a job, but I think I've solved that problem now," she joked after being introduced at the start of the graduation ceremony.
As much as she loves her new job, Kagan said she does miss those times spent teaching law and talking with young people about what it means to lead a life in the law. Part of that revolves around being passionate and following your heart, she said.
"You should now and always do what you love," Kagan told the graduates. "You should immerse yourself in the problems you think most important and challenging, surround yourself with people you think most interesting, throw yourself into whatever has the greatest prospect of giving meaning to your life and providing satisfaction and excitement. Do what you love."
Susan Montoya Bryan can be reached at http://twitter.com/susanmbryanNM
