On Friday, May 6, 189 proud graduates from all around the globe gathered with faculty, family, and dear friends for the Colorado Law 2022 graduation recognition ceremony at the Macky Auditorium.

Watch the full ceremony here.

Opening the ceremony, Dean Lolita Buckner Inniss welcomed the Class of 2022, “I know you’ve heard this before, but, graduates, look to your left and look to your right,” she said. “These are your future colleagues, future collaborators, and—I hope—your friends as you go forth to join the great, great community of Colorado Law alumni.” She continued, “You, the members of the Class of 2022, have gone through a lot. I want us to pause just for a moment, and I’d like you to give yourselves a round of applause for reaching this day.” With that, the auditorium erupted with exuberant cheering from the Class of 2022 and their many supporters.

After Dean Inniss’ opening remarks, Professor Violeta Chapin provided a warm welcome in Spanish, which was followed by a powerful Honor Song and brief remarks from Doug Good Feather.

Then Professor Blake E. Reid '10 introduced this year's Honorary Order of the Coif Recipient, Woon Ki Lau ’72, who regaled the audience with sage advice and humorous memories of his early post-law school adventures.

View the event's program here.

The program continued with engaging remarks from the Class of 2022’s Class President, Benjamin Tyrel Hepler. Class Treasurers, Jason Rogers and John McAllister Baker presented the student, faculty, and staff awards. Mackenzie Seiler Smith, Class Vice President, then introduced the keynote speaker, Colorado's 43rd Governor Jared Polis.

In his speech, Governor Polis spoke of the remarkable perseverance shown by these graduates. "Your tenure as students coincides with a remarkable period of challenges in history, and I think that will be a source of strength to you going forward," he remarked. “Overnight you went from attending classes on campus to online lectures… instead of learning alongside your classmates, you were alongside, in many cases, your parents, perhaps your roommates, perhaps younger siblings, perhaps barking dogs, but you didn’t let that keep you from building this meaningful community and building the ties in new and better ways.”

"We have always had a mantra that we want to be bold and be joyous in everything we do," he continued, "Being bold means daring to dream and then grasping and achieving that dream.” As his remarks drew to a close, he shared, "I call on each of you to use your degree to follow your passion—the outward projection of what exists in your soul—to work hard, to be bold, to be joyous, to uphold the principles of our republic and the rule of law, and—if you do these things, you will truly have nothing to regret when you look back on your life.”

The graduates victoriously walked across the stage, and David W. Stark ’73 welcomed them to Colorado Law's extraordinary alumni community. As the program drew to a close, Dean Inniss recited the traditional Sears Charge and the audience let loose another wave of congratulatory applause. Soon everyone exited the auditorium and embarked on a joyous recessional back to the Wolf Law Building accompanied by Denver's premier second-line brass band, The Brothers of Brass.

The graduates celebrated at this event include 166 candidates for JD degrees, 7 MSL degrees, and 16 candidates for LLM degrees.

View photography from the ceremony and reception here.