Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar, the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former justice of the Supreme Court of California, delivered a keynote address in which he stressed the power of democracy, its fragility and the importance of preserving it.

“Together,” he said, “we can ask a version of the question that John F. Kennedy asked in 1960: not what American democracy can do for us, but what, together, we can do for its cause.”

He elaborated on how the graduates, as lawyers and advocates, have the power to be a positive force in challenging times.

“What is at stake today? What is at stake is the very power to engage in national renewal, to get past where we have been,” he said. “Strengthening our democracy only happens when we understand how fragile it is. That’s where you come in, not just through the clients you are going to serve but through the ideas you are going to protect: guilt requires proof, rules merit respect or revision subject to fair process, effective argument calls for empathy more than emphasis, and progress almost always requires compromise. … Democracy-protecting lawyers, you are going to show the way.”

He continued, “Still, nothing about what I am calling on you to do is too difficult for you. Because I do not think any one of you would trade places with any other generation that has it easier. Because you don’t want to live with regret for what you lost. Because here you learned that power, your power, comes not only from rhetoric or reason but from realizing that democracy lives not just in the headnote of a case but in the chamber of a heart.”

Other speakers included graduating students Abigail Smith, on behalf of the J.D. class; Shreyashi Sharma, for the LL.M. grads; Peter Arceo, for the M.L.S. class; and Sareen Khakh, the 3L class president. Lauren Ahaddian, a J.D. graduate, sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Khakh said, “Law school is not easy, even in the best of circumstances, and as a class, we have faced our fair share of challenges. We have risen to these challenges by banding together and demanding better, not just of our university and the legal system, but of the world. We have demanded a world that is just, free and equitable. And we will continue to do so throughout our legal careers.”

“We chose to be here,” Arceo said. “We did it because we had a dream to study law and to make a difference for our communities. Some of us were inspired by leaders in the legal community, and others, the passion to make a positive change for our careers or society. … Those who came before us have shown us the path to success, to be brave, and to help the world become a better place. It is what being a true Bruin is all about.”

“All of us took that leap of faith, to overcome borders, countries, financial hurdles and immigration processes to come together to pursue our passions,” Sharma said. “What is it that has made all of this [our UCLA Law experience] fulfilling for us? It is the human bonds, with all their richness and tension, that we have created in these diverse experiences and learning among each other. … Time immemorial, these bonds have had the power to transform laws, policies and systems.”

“Meeting you made me hope that law school, instead of being torture or, perhaps, alongside it, could actually be fun. The students at UCLA Law are some of the brightest, funniest and most interesting people I’ve ever met,” Smith said. “I can’t imagine what we will achieve over our entire legal careers. … The most important measure of a person is how they treat other people, and this class truly measures up. … I am excited to see what each of us contributes to the legal field and the world at large.”

Watch the full commencement ceremony and read more about the event.

Miñana de Lovelace is the immediate past chair of the UCLA Law Board of Advisors and is co-chair of the UCLA Second Century Council. She announced her gift at a March 2024 symposium that celebrated Gómez’s career.

Jasleen Kohli, executive director of the CRS program, says, “Alicia’s visionary gift to CRS will serve two vital roles. It will ensure the growth of Latinx legal studies here at UCLA Law and serve as a call to action, inspiring the growth of Latinx legal scholars.”

Gómez holds the Rachel F. Moran Endowed Chair in Law and joined the UCLA Law faculty in 1994. She has served as a vice dean of the law school and the interim dean of the social sciences division of UCLA College. She was also a professor of law and American studies and an associate dean of the law school at the University of New Mexico. Her decades of scholarly work and community engagement reveal her deep commitment to civil rights and Latinx communities. Her 2020 book, Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism, and her 2007 book, Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race, have drawn wide acclaim and recognition. In 2023, she was elected to the board of MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the most prominent civil rights organization advocating on behalf of Latinos.

Gómez has also been a dedicated mentor of students and future scholars in Latinx issues, deeply engaging with them through her teaching and supervision. For many years, she taught the UCLA Law seminar Latinos and the Law, which considers the position of Latin American people in the U.S. vis-à-vis the American legal system. Gómez Teaching Fellows will continue her work by teaching the seminar to new generations of students.

In 2000, Gómez was only the second Latina law professor to earn tenure at a top-20 law school. But Miñana de Lovelace emphasizes that one reason for her gift is how growth in the ranks of Latinx law professors and legal practitioners more broadly has been frustratingly slow. Hispanic and Latinx people comprise 36% of California’s population but make up just 7% of the state’s licensed active attorneys.

“Boosting opportunities and creating meaningful change is never easy and takes a group effort — which is precisely what UCLA Law and CRS have been doing for a long time now,” Miñana de Lovelace says. “This is the perfect place to continue tackling these challenges head on.”

The contribution is the most recent in Miñana de Lovelace’s history of leadership and philanthropic engagement with UCLA Law. In 2020, a $5 million gift from Miñana de Lovelace and her husband, Rob Lovelace, launched the law school’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy. In 2021, another gift established the Alicia Miñana Chair in Law, designed to support a faculty member with interests at the intersection of human rights and immigration or migration law. The chair is currently held by E. Tendayi Achiume, the recent winner of a MacArthur “genius” grant, who was the first woman to serve as the United Nations’ special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. In 2013, UCLA Law presented Miñana de Lovelace with one of its Distinguished Alumni of the Year awards, for her outstanding contributions to public and community service.

“We are so fortunate to have Alicia Miñana de Lovelace as a leading member of the UCLA Law community, and this gift is just the most recent example of her enduring — and truly changemaking — partnership,” UCLA Law Dean Michael Waterstone says. “Her insightful dedication to legal scholarship, thoughtful advocacy and the raising of future voices has already made an indelible impact on the law school and our neighbors across California and the nation. I could not be more proud that she has created this fellowship in honor of Laura E. Gómez, a real trailblazer in the law, as an investment in the growth of Latinx legal studies and scholars. The successes that it yields will resonate for ages.”