{"id":236791,"date":"2026-05-19T15:15:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/236791\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:15:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:15:25","slug":"freedom-versatility-and-power-to-change-council-speaker-menin-tells-new-york-law-school-grads-what-their-law-degree-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/236791\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom, versatility and power to change: Council Speaker Menin tells New York Law School grads what their law degree means"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 361 fresh graduates of New York Law School<\/a> will hold a unique and versatile power and freedom as they carry their degree, said City Council Speaker Julie Menin<\/a> at the school\u2019s Monday commencement ceremony.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law is said to be a profession of choices, but a legal education extends the choices of a greater freedom that few others are afforded: a freedom to be of service to others and to our country and to the laws that govern them, to challenge those laws and to make the right choice to fight for the right to keep our freedom,\u201d Menin told the Class of 2026. \u201cIt is a freedom that matters more than the uncertainty that life is guaranteed to throw at you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Menin is presented an honorary degree from New York Law School Dean Anthony Crowle after delivering the commencement address.<\/p>\n

Speaker Menin, who holds a law degree from the Northwestern University School of Law, told the cadre of new grads that she\u2019d had 10 careers since the turn of the millennium \u2013 ranging from restaurant owner to corporate attorney to public servant \u2013 and she\u2019d used her law degree in each and every one of them as life pushed her in directions she\u2019d never imagined moving in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the most valuable things she feels her legal education gave her was the ability to adapt quickly.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAs versatile as the law degree is and can be, the education you receive here has taught you many other things that you might not realize at the moment, chief among them being how to grapple with uncertainty because you\u2019ve learned the necessity of preparation,\u201d she said. \u201cChange, on one hand, can be incomprehensibly unfortunate, and yet can always lead you to effect some positive change in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Dean Anthony Crowle stands with students after handing them their diplomas.<\/p>\n

New York Law School Dean Anthony Crowle delivered his own message to students, emphasizing the responsibility to the public that comes with their diploma and the importance of leveraging their law degree to push the world in a positive direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you begin your transition from law school to lawyer, is when you begin to realize that the knowledge and skills you learned as a student can be used to carry the great weight and obligation demanded by our profession,\u201d Crowle said. \u201cYou\u2019re committing to a life in service of others, and to promote, protect, and preserve the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The crowd of students, families, alumni and professors gathered in Lincoln Center for the New York Law School commencement ceremony.<\/p>\n

It was clear that Crowle had been successful at instilling that message in his students as graduate and Student Bar Association President Britney Blum took to the podium to deliver remarks to her graduating class.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law needs smart lawyers, but it also needs good ones,\u201d Blum said. \u201cLawyers who remember that behind every case file is a human story, lawyers who believe that fairness matters, and lawyers who understand that our profession has the power not just to interpret law, but to shape it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Crowle awards students degrees as they cross the stage.<\/p>\n

She shared advice she had received from a professor, who had told her class that, while law school is hard, working post-law school should be harder, as it\u2019s where the new grads will put their education to work in the service of others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where we go harder, where we work harder for our clients, where we advocate harder for justice, and where we build careers that make a real difference in our community,\u201d Blum said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was an emotional day for graduates and families as they took in the weight of their accomplishments.\u00a0
\n\"\"NYLS alumni present their younger family members with their degrees.\n<\/p>\n

Roughly a dozen alumni of the school presented degrees to younger family members who\u2019d followed in their footsteps by earning a law degree at the same institution. Parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins and aunts handed diplomas off in an emotional start to the presentation of Juris Doctorates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"NYLS graduates accept degrees from older members of their family, who are alumni of the school.<\/p>\n

Graduate Dolma Sherpa paid tribute to her parents, who were watching via the school\u2019s livestream from her hometown in Nepal, in her touching speech. She said she always saw her quest for education and her success as intrinsically tied to her family, as they put everything they had behind her as she moved to the U.S. alone to pursue a law degree.<\/p>\n

Dolma said she wore her mother\u2019s traditional attire under her graduation robes and had sewn her mother\u2019s name on her sash to show that the degree was just as much her mother\u2019s as it was hers, as the adversity she overcame to earn it took a village.<\/p>\n

\"\"Students and their families pose outside after the ceremony.<\/p>\n

She said she almost turned down the opportunity to speak at commencement out of fear her accent may \u201csound funny\u201d to the crowd, as English isn\u2019t her first language. But, she said she felt pulled to take the stage in honor of the millions of women around the world, including her mother, who were shut out of the chance at an education by patriarchal cultures that said women shouldn\u2019t be in the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cMillions of women around the world have never had the opportunity to speak,\u201d Dolma said. \u201cIlliteracy and patriarchy robbed them of their words, and silence took their voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other graduates, like Kristen Grennan and Rhiannon Wright, highlighted the unique challenges and experiences of students who studied through New York Law School\u2019s night program. <\/p>\n

Made up of many older students seeking a legal degree while actively working, their determination to push through coursework in classes that run until around 10 p.m. is particularly commendable, said both students, who accepted the Kathleen Grim Medal award together.<\/p>\n

\"\"Graduates Kristen Grennan and Rhiannon Wright stand with Crowle at the commencement ceremony.Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

Outside the Lincoln Center ceremony, graduate Sara Aronfeld and her family shared an emotional moment. Sara\u2019s father, Spencer Aronfeld, fought back tears as he told amNewYork how proud he was to watch his daughter graduate, as he\u2019s an attorney himself, and that he looks forward to her joining his Miami-based personal injury firm, Aronfeld Trial Lawyers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Aronfelds stand together outside the ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the proudest moments in my life, maybe the proudest,\u201d Spencer Aronfeld said. \u201cShe\u2019s been working for me for about three or four years in the firm, and she\u2019s going to be a tremendous asset. I\u2019m not saying this just because she\u2019s my daughter: she\u2019s going to be a spectacular attorney, and we\u2019re really very proud of her.\u201d<\/p>\n

A selection of awards presented and students honored are below:\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Finalists for the Trustees\u2019 Prize for the Highest Grade Point Average:\n<\/p>\n

Day Division: Vanessa Haselkorn, Hailey Kraft and Kate Sabiston\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Night Division: Arielle Edleheit and Kristen Grennan
\n\"\"A NYLS graduate stands with his family before the commencement ceremony.\n<\/p>\n

Chief Justice Rose E. Bird Award for Motivation in Pursuing Public Interest Law:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chloe Adassa, Jorge Herrera De Leon, Marsha Kubyshko, Sanskriti Maheshwari and Timothy McCormick\n<\/p>\n

Alvin J. Bronstein \u201851 Civil Rights and Social Justice Award:\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Jennifer Diaz
\n\"\"Graduates stand together before the ceremony.\n<\/p>\n

Helen and Andrew Dokas Memorial Award for Excellent Achievement:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nicole Dos Santos, Ariel Oeffinger, Renato Pangan and Sophie Schondorf
\n\"\"A graduate stands with his family after the commencement ceremony.\n<\/p>\n

Professor Stephen J. Ellmann Clinical Legal Education Prize:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jadrian Guy
\n\"\"A new graduate celebrates outside Lincoln Center.\n<\/p>\n

Alexander D. Forager Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Erin Martin, Maxwell Velikodny, Rhiannon Wright and Jacqueline Zamora
\n\"\"Dean Anthony Crowle hands a diploma to a graduate as she crosses the stage.\n<\/p>\n

John Franco \u201815 Memorial Award:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amina Cecunjanin-Music, Sarah Czochanski and Yau Chan
\n\"\"A graduate celebrates with family.\n<\/p>\n

Joseph Solomon Award for Excellent Character:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kristen Grennan, Marcin Luczaj, Mary Campbell Rouse and Bekka Wiedenmeyer
\n\"\"A new grad poses with flowers after the commencement ceremony.\n<\/p>\n

Kathleen Grimm Medal:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kristen Grennan and Rhiannon Wright
\n\"\"A graduate poses with her family outside Lincoln Center.Ramy Mahmoud\n<\/p>\n

Alfred L. Rose Award for Excellence:<\/p>\n

Vanessa Haselkorn, Peter Nemeh and Ashley Oliver<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 361 fresh graduates of New York Law School will hold a unique and versatile power and freedom…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[44771,19077,2710,9,11,10,12889],"class_list":["post-236791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-graduation","tag-julie-menin","tag-law","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-law-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}