Colorado Law Welcomes the Class of 2012

Dean David Getches made his traditional Welcome Speech to the Class of 2012 and addressed the first-year law students as the future’s “trusted representatives, judges, political and community leaders, and solvers of a generation of problems not yet imagined.”

The Class of 2012 has 166 students ranging from 20 to 48 years of age. Approximately 30% of the class is from a diverse racial or ethnic background. Students hail from 94 colleges and universities around the country. Many speak a second language in addition to English, including American Sign Language, Arabic, Hindi, Nepali, and Mandarin Chinese. Some have a variety of careers before law school including a coal mine worker, a jazz pianist, a belly dancer, a Seattle Seahawks drumline drummer, and six people were staff members on state or federal legislative committees. See Facts & Figures for details about this class.

Volunteerism is a major cornerstone of the class with volunteers from Teach for America, for human rights in Mexico, a UN project for environmental protection in Egypt, a Chilean orphanage, a founder of an organization to promote organ donation, and a founder of an organization to take action on the abuses in Darfur. The Dean emphasized a commitment to certain timeless values that the students must accept when choosing to enter the legal profession. “You will lead the profession and our society on a new path, guided by old values–integrity, honor, a commitment to serve, and a belief in equal access to justice and the rule of law.” The incoming class will join the ranks of alumni who are trusted legal representatives, defenders and prosecutors, political leaders, and judges across the state of Colorado and the nation.