Members of the Law'17 class bask in sunshine and the culmination of years of hard work.
Members of the Law'17 class bask in sunshine and the culmination of years of hard work.

The sun beamed brightly on Grant Hall on June 9 for spring Convocation: a celebration of the culmination of years of hard work and determination by the newest Queen’s Law graduates.

Family, friends, faculty and staff cheered on 218 JD, LLM and PhD students and honorary Doctor of Laws recipient Don Bayne, Law’69 (Arts’66, EMBA’01), as they received their degrees.

“You’ll walk out of Grant Hall this afternoon to a world of increasingly accelerating change, arguably more than at any time in human history,” said Bayne, a renowned criminal defence lawyer, in his address to the school’s newest alumni. “So today, as you graduate, one message is that you haven’t ‘arrived’ today at all – and hopefully you never will. It’s better and more fun to be ‘becoming’ rather than ‘being’ in the sense that becoming is dynamic, being is static.”

Several awards were presented during the ceremony. Law Medals were given to graduates with the highest cumulative averages: Emily Lieffers, Graham Buitenhuis and Rebecca Torrance. Body Appotive and Rory Tighe each received the Dean’s Key award for best embodying community values, collegiality, professionalism, service and academic excellence. Michael Coleman accepted the Agnes Benidickson Tricolour Award, the highest tribute paid to students for distinguished non-athletic and non-academic service to the university.

Following the ceremony, the new graduates and their guests enjoyed a reception in Ban Righ Hall. There, Dean Bill Flanagan presented the Dean’s Scholar to the graduates with the highest third-year averages: Emily Lieffers (Gold Scholar), Brandon Chung (Silver Scholar), and Nicholas Delcore (Bronze Scholar).

As the Class of 2017 enters the next stage of “becoming” in their careers, they are left with the parting words from the address by JD class representative Alex Hood. “In the next decade, we are going to be the people who are given the reins to society. From my experiences with the fiercely intelligent, caring and diligent individuals in this class, I do believe the future is in good hands.”

For more photos, check out our Facebook page.

Watch next week for a story about LLD recipient Don Bayne and an interview with new grad Andrew Bala and his dad, Professor Nick Bala, Law’77.