Dorothy's Graduation Speech

早安，大家好，我是Dorothy Deng，鄧蔚蓉，謝謝我的爸媽從瑞士趕來參加我的畢業典禮，還有謝謝鄧力仁去機場接他們來。

What you are feeling right now is exactly what I felt on my first day of law school in Professor Farrior’s Tort Class. The only word I would have recognized was my name, and I prayed that I don’t hear it from Professor Farrior’s mouth.

So good morning everybody, I am Dorothy Deng from the class of 2006. Pardon my English because it is not my native language. If my accent bothers any of you, please bear with it for a short while. As I promised to Jerry and Tammy, I will keep this speech under 5 minutes.

But for those of you who think I am doing okay so far, please give all the credits to you, the students, faculty, staff, and friends of the Penn State Dickinson Law School community here in Carlisle. Because without your support and encouragement, there is just no way for someone like me, who comes from overseas, not feeling comfortable speaking English, not knowing much about the American society, to make it this far in law school, and be standing here right now.

After three years of law school here, I have to say that I not only learned a lot about the U.S. legal system, but have also learned some practical knowledge and interesting facts.

For example, in professor Gildon’s Criminal Procedure class, I learned the 4 ways to maximize a citizen’s right. First, say officer I surrender; second, run naked for some privacy; third, always ask officer are you asking me are you telling me; and fourth, which is the most important one, always always say I want a lawyer. And also in Advocacy I, I learned that public speaking is the second scariest thing for an average person, which is only ranked after snakes.

In Professor Carbeannoue’s contract class, I learned that Arbitration rocks. In Professor Fieldman’s Appellate Practice, I learned to always file court documents on time and follow every single rule. In Professor McKrea’s Trust and Estate, I learned that we should always write a will, and maybe hire law school graduates from other law school to be your secretaries. In Professor Knox’s Environmental law classes, I learned that half the species will be gone during our lifetime. I know this sounds depressing, but one can still be happy if he has three lovely daughters.

But the most important thing I’ve learned here at Penn State Dickinson is that, we can all get anything we want, but the degree of how desperate we want it will determine who gets the best. And of course I learned this from my experiences of getting a carrel in the library.

Back when I was a first year, I cut my vacation short from Taipei and got back to Carlisle early for putting my name, and my friends’ names on paper to occupy a carrel; then the rule changed so I camped at the library for three days, and would run to my carrel if I see Professor Fox walking around; then the rule changed again, so I lined up at the door for 5 hours and raced to my targeted carrel when the bell rang. I always got my targeted carrel or at least I’d get one in my targeted area. But of course, there are people who always get better carrels. They cut their vacation shorter, or they start lining up at the door the night before.

So, my point is, receiving rankings in law school is like occupying a carrel in the library. The degree of how a person is desperate to get a super ranking will determine who gets the best. On the other hand, as long as we stay on top of all the readings, writing assignments, and engage in lectures and discussions in class, we all should feel pretty good at the end of the day, even without being at top 10% of the class. But now I really have to clarity something, the majority of you have a better ranking than me. And no I don’t have a job lined up for me after graduation. So I can’t give out any bar exam-taking or career advises. However, I can offer some tips to keep your body fit.

Tip number one, don’t starve; don’t gorge. And of course I’d love to have Fay’s country kitchen breakfast special; Mesenno’s pizza; ice cream from Massy; tons of wings at the Hanover Grill for under 5 dollars, and fried mushrooms at the Carlisle Diner after having some drinks at the Gingerbread man. No we don’t deprive ourselves from having tasty food and good times with friends, but make high calorie food the exception, not the general rule.

Tip number two, always schedule time to exercise at least three times a week. The majority of us will have a busy career in the near future, but don’t let career become the proximate cause of all kinds of health problems. There are ways to exercise efficiently with extremely low cost. Just get a pair of running shoes and jog outside, order a kickboxing or Yoga DVD, or do jump ropes.

I know that everybody will forget the most part of this speech very soon, but if you want to remember anything, please remember these two tips of staying fit. First, don’t starve; don’t gorge. Second, always make time to exercise at least three times a week. By the way, congratulations to Hiroshi for quit smoking.

Finally, I want to especially thank Esthefani and Tammy for always being there for me and treating me like their sister. And now, in conclusion, we’ve made it through law school, and today is our day to celebrate with our friends and family. Congratulations class of 2006.

So What's Up

1. I am done with all of my exams and papers in law school. As for now, I am working on my graduation speech.

2. My graduation is Saturday, May 13th. Since my sister Grace is graduating from the University of Virginia on the following Saturday, my parents are flying from Geneva to the United States to attend both of our commencement ceremonies.

3. Grace and I are moving into our new apartment at Falls Church, Virginia.

4. I will be taking Bar-Bri classes at George Washington University and studying for the New York Bar exam from May 22 to July 25.

5. I don't have a job offer yet, but hopefully I'll find one around the Metro DC area after I take the bar.

I've also started to pack my stuff in the Cartilage. And I've noticed a few things:
1. I have more shoes than I thought I do

2. It's amazing that my small room can hold so much stuff without looking overly packed.

3. It's scary that one person can create tons of junk over three years.

4. Working out at the gym really pays off when it comes to carrying boxes around