Be Devoted to Your Career and Help Others
演讲人：Harold Hongju Koh 哈罗德·洪柱·高
Distinguished guests，faculty，families，friends，and members of graduating class：Welcome，all of you，to the Yale Law School"s 2008commencement exercises.Thank you.We gather here this a fter noon to celebrate an institution，to graduate a class，and to renew a solemn commitment.The institution is the Yale Law School，the class is the remarkable Class of 2008，the commitment is to a tradition of humanity and excellence in the study of law that dates back several centuries.This ceremony reaffirms that they did not do it alone.Behind each person who graduates today，there is an inspiring story of family and friends：of parents who sacrificed，who worked jointly or separately to ensure their child"s education.Of grandparents，uncles and aunts who watched over you when your parents could not；of brothers，sisters，cousins，and friends who answered your calls and instant messages；of children who somehow recognized how important law school was for you；of spouses and loved ones who commuted，worked second jobs，or put their own careers on hold so that you could make the most of this opportunity.I once asked my own father，as he sat writing out one of my tuition checks.Whether he regretted payingout so much tuition.He said simply"：
Why do we work？
Why do we live？We have nothing to give you but love and education，but by giving you that，don"t we give you everything？"We on the faculty and staff have taught you these last few years，but we know that among us today are the people who gave you everything.So would the families and friends of the Class of 2008rise so that all of us can honor you？To the parents here today，let me say，as you watch your graduates end their schooling，how can you not think back to the first day that you took them to school？Back then，who could have dreamed that this day would ever come？
And back then，did we really think time would fly so fast？I know exactly how you feel，especially today，because，in just a few moments，my own daughter is graduating too，from Yale"s Jonathan Edwards College，which is holding its graduation across Beinecke Plaza.And so，in a moment，I must leave for her graduation and turn these ceremonies over to my friend and colleague，Deputy Dean Jon Macey.But I cannot just leave without telling you something from the heart.You，the Class of2008，are very special to me.
You came of age after September 11.You were admitted in my first year as dean.You started while Hurricane Katrina raged.We hiked Sleeping Giant together-twice.And in between，we have spent many hours together，both in and out of class.In the last three years，you ran conferences on rebellious lawyering ，Access to Knowledge，Ms.JD，Graduate Works in Progress，and the New Haven School of International Law.You wrote your SAWs and your substantial papers，you ran journals and Small Group Olympics，and you founded the Workers Rights and Immigration Clinic，the Supreme Court Clinic，clinics on Education Adequacy and Domestic Violence and the San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project.You persuaded Yale to divest from Sudan and Allied Universities to seek essential medicines for AIDS victims.You applied for jobs and clerkships，you competed in Moot Court and Barristers Union and you celebrated 40Nights.
At a time when politics in America had lost its civility，your American Constitution Society and Federalist Society chapters co-sponsored events together，and at the Law Revue，you made hilarious fun of your faculty and your Dean.While all this transpired，some of you lost loved ones，got married，and gave birth to children.And today，here you all are，together again one last time.
So class of 2008，look to your left，look to your right，and you see what Yale LawSchool is，and must always be：a community of remarkable individuals，committed to excellence and humanity in everything you do.You have kept this place a community of commitment：commitment to the highest excellence in our work as lawyers andscholars，to the greatest humanity in our dealings with others，and to the pursuit of careers not of selfishness，but of service.In this place，you have competed with one another-very hard-and supported one another-very well.You have confronted one another and comforted one another.And when all is said and done，you leave behind a far better law school，a better Yale，and a better New Haven than the ones you found three years ago.
Over these last few years，you"ve heard many words from me.Some of them，I hope you will take to your graves：like"federal courts are courts of limited subject matter jurisdiction."By the way，if that comes as news to anyof you，let me tell you now tha"tfederal courts are in fact courts of limited subject matter jurisdiction."Who says you don"t learn any law here at Yale Law School？You may fear that there is a lot about law that you have not learned，and you know what？You are certainly right.But in fact，everything really important about life and law you have already learned here：how should you live your life as a lawyer？You find your friends in small groups.
