"Anything Is Possible," Ole Miss Law School Student Body Pres. Gregory Alston Speaks At Commencement

Below is the full text of remarks delivered by outgoing Law School Student Body President Gregory Alston at the Ole Miss Law School Commencement Ceremony on Saturday. 

It is great to be with you all on this beautiful day in Oxford, Mississippi on the campus of Ole Miss. I had the distinct honor of serving as the Law School Student Body President this year. It has been a great year for the law school and our students. The students here today that are graduating are some of the top students in the country and will one day be some of the best attorneys in the country, I am assured of that.
Leading the student government has been a great blessing and joy of mine over the past year. I guess it is safe to say that involvement with student government has been engrained in me over the past seven years on the campus of Ole Miss. Serving as the Ole Miss ASB Student Body President of 2013-2014 and the LSSB Student Body President this year have been two of the greatest experiences of my life that I am very thankful to God for and the support of many friends and family along the way. I would not trade this experience for anything.
With all of the many great things that come with being a student government leader, leading student government can be a challenge at times. Back in 2013, a lot of the times the voice of the student body was different than what the administration would want to see happen on campus. We made a stand back in 2013 as a student government that we would stand up for what our student body believes in and what we believed was the right thing to do. This was really the first time during my time at Ole Miss that I had seen a student government operate solely to listen to the voice of the student body and collectively get things done on campus to make our student body stronger and more united.
While the undergraduate administration always did not agree with our stands on certain issues, they respected what we were doing because we were advocating for our students and standing up for what we and our students believed in. I say that to lead in to my serving as the President of the Law School Student Body. The LSSB was able to accomplish many great things advocating for our students interests. There were many changes we were able to implement this year, and I appreciate the support of the students for believing in us to serve you. I would also like to thank Dean Bell, all of the Deans, and the administration for supporting the Law School Student Body in all that we did this year. It has been an honor working with every member of the administration this year to advocate for our student body and I appreciate all of your support this past year. The LSSB was able to serve as a strong voice for our students to advocate for and implement policy change and I appreciate your support.
Leadership is an important word that brings a lot of responsibility with it. Leaders are who we rely on and trust in every aspect of the world. Too many times today we unfortunately see leaders who are criticized and chastised for standing up for what they believe in. If leaders make a decision that we disagree with, we see violent uproars and enragement. We have lost a lack of respect for difference of opinion and tear down the people who we do not agree with, instead of supporting our leaders who represent us. We see a constant focus on the negatives and what is bad about Ole Miss, the state of Mississippi, and this country, instead of highlighting the great things about all of these places. And there are many great things happening in Mississippi and at Ole Miss. Ole Miss was named a Best Value School by National Jurist. Ole Miss was ranked in the top 20 schools for Practical Training by National Jurist. We are 24th in the Nation in securing Federal Clerkships according to Business Insider. The Business Law Institute received an A+ ranking, one of only four law schools in the entire country to do so and our advocacy programs have brought home several national championships over the past year. These are the kinds of things that make Ole Miss great. Positive achievements that need to receive more appreciation and recognition.
During my time leading the student body, I am proud to say that we did not practice a culture of divisiveness or let people stop us from standing up for what is right. We did not focus on the negatives, instead we stood up for the great things about Ole Miss and what the student body believes in and we were respected for it while focusing on positive forward moving change.
We highlighted the great things about this beloved university and this state institution while focusing on how we can make this place better moving forward but not backwards in time. I say all this to say that we as the student body have this great opportunity to be positive and powerful advocates in the legal profession. Advocates for our clients, but also advocates for our values and our morals that make up who we are. All of us are here today because we have completed a long and trying journey that has tested each and every one of us. Today is a celebration of a degree that shows that we are all capable and ready to make a difference in this state, this country, and this world and make a positive impact on the legal profession. Today does mark the end of a chapter of our lives, but this is just the beginning of a new chapter where we have all the opportunity in the world to go out and accomplish our dreams and what we set our minds to.
To my classmates, I am indebted to you and thank you for this opportunity to serve you this past year. It has been one of the greatest joys of my life, and I look forward to seeing all of the great things that each and every one of you will do. To the families and friends with us today, thank you for all of your love and support over the past three years. It means so much to us. And to the faculty, administration, and staff, thank you for providing us with a world class legal education that gives us this opportunity to join the legal profession. And to my family, my fiancé Ann Ferrell, and my mentor Steve Guyton thank you for all of your support over the past three years. It means more to me than you know.
I would like to close by offering a few words of encouragement to our student body. To the students, go out and make a difference and do not let anyone slow you down. Life is too short to be surrounded by people who do not build us up and support us. Be who you are and do not ever forget who you are. Anything is possible for us if we set our mind to it and believe. With this degree we will receive today from Ole Miss, we have been given the key to go out into the world and make a difference in people’s lives who need it the most. This is only the beginning of a new journey, and there will be valleys and mountains, trials and tribulations, but with hard work, commitment, and dedication, we will be able to do anything that we believe in and set our mind to.
I look forward to looking back on this time in law school and saying I went to law school with you whenever you accomplish the great things that we all be proud of as representatives and graduates of this law school. And lastly if you are leaving Mississippi, come back to this place and support Ole Miss. We have been so blessed to attend such a great law school here at the University of Mississippi and while Mississippi is such a great state, we need good attorneys like you in this state. We all came here from different backgrounds, states, and places, but I hope to see you all back in the Grove during football season cheering on the Rebels. God Bless You. God Bless the University of Mississippi School of Law. And God Bless the great State of Mississippi. Hotty Toddy and Go Rebels.

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