Graduation ceremonies are more than the thing you attend to get a diploma. They are an opportunity for family, friends, and faculty to celebrate the fruit of their students’ hard labor. Sometimes life gets in the way of that celebration. Thankfully, the passage of time didn’t prevent a decorated graduate from getting his roses on stage. F.Bryand McOmber Jr. recently accepted his diploma from University of Utah on stage about 52 years after his graduation. KSL has coverage:
McOmber’s path through law school wasn’t straightforward. Halfway through his 2L year, he received a draft notice for the Vietnam War and was slated to begin basic training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, on May 1, 1971.
…“The last time I had actually walked across the stage to get a diploma was high school,” McOmber said. “So the dean said, ‘OK, you are marching with the class of 2024.’”
His story may resonate a lot closer to most people than you’d expect. There are thousands of law school graduates who missed out on their in-person graduation ceremony because of COVID. Life went on, maybe they got their diplomas in the mail and went on to work the job they had lined up. But, if they swept their regret on missing out under the rug, McOmber’s story could be the push they need to walk across that stage themselves. Following his example, all they’d have to do is lead a life of excellence and casually mention they never got to walk to their law school’s dean 50 years from now. Either that or write a nice email.
Congratulations to the class of 2024!
Utah Man Walks At Law Commencement 52 Years After Finishing Law School [KSL]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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