 I'm going to begin this event as we do at all formal events here at the law school. I want to take a moment to reflect on the lands on which we reside. We want to acknowledge the ancestral homelands and traditional territories of indigenous and native peoples who have been here since time immemorial and to recognize that we must continue to build our solidarity and kinship with native peoples across the Americas and across the globe. Roger Williams University School of Law is located here in Bristol, Rhode Island. So we acknowledge and honor the Narragansett and Poconoke people and SOAMS, the original name of the land on which our campus resides. We also acknowledge that this country would not exist if it wasn't for the free enslaved labor of black people. And we recognize the town of Bristol and the very land on which our campus resides has benefited significantly from the trade of enslaved people from Africa. The economy of New England, Rhode Island, and more specifically Bristol, was built from wealth generated through the triangle trade of human lives. During this time of national reckoning with our history of slavery and the disparate treatment of black people, we honor the legacy of the African diaspora and the black life, knowledge and skills stolen due to violence and white supremacy. While the movement for justice and liberation is building and we are witnessing the power of the people, many are still being met with violence and even being killed. As upholders of justice, our hope is to become agents of change for members of our society who have been met with violence, both physical, mental and emotional, using our privilege as law students and soon-to-be practitioners of law. Chief Justice Satell, President Mialis, Dean Bowman, President of the Rhode Island Bar Association and alum, Nicole Benjamin, President of the RW Law Alumni Association, Brett Bovean and your Student Bar Association President, John T. McKenzie, and most especially members of the class of 2026. Good evening. My name is Michael Donnelly Boylan. My pronouns are he, him, his, and I am the Associate Dean for Enrollment and Strategic Initiatives here at Roger Williams University School of Law. Let me begin tonight's chorus by welcoming you to Roger. We are very excited for the class of 2026 and our newest law hawks. Today, I'm going to tell you a little bit about the classmates who are embarking on this journey with you. But first, I ask you to take a look around the room. The group you see here tonight is going to be your support system for the next three years and likely well beyond. Now, do me this favor. If you are from Rhode Island, raise your hand. Roughly one-third of your class is from Rhode Island. The largest number of Rhode Islanders, Rhode Island 1Ls I have ever seen in the 20-plus years I have been here. Now I ask you to raise your hand if you are from one of the New England states, aka Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. Look around again. That's slightly less than half of the people in this room, meaning over half of your class actually comes from states outside of New England. I want you to realize how many of you have come from far and wide today to join us on the shores of the Mount Hope Bay. Now, after today's, after the remarks this afternoon, we're going to be having a taste of Rhode Island reception just outside these doors. If you aren't from Rhode Island, I invite you to grab one of the locals and have them explain some of the local delicacies. The most represented state in your class will not surprise you. It's Rhode Island. Massachusetts makes up 12 percent of your class. New York 8 percent and New Jersey 7 percent. There are almost as many students from Florida as there are from Connecticut. In Georgia, sent us more students than Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire combined. Overall, there are 29 US states represented in your class. There are a wide variety of undergraduate colleges and universities represented as well. Just to give you a sample, some of the schools that sent us two or more students include Florida State, Northeastern, Penn State, and both Southern Utah University and the University of Utah. Roger Williams University continues its streak of being our top undergraduate feeder school. Go Hawks! Other than Roger, our top feeder schools are the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, Salve Regina, Holy Cross, Elon, UConn, UMass Amherst, and Stonehill. Some other interesting facts about your class. One in five of you majored in political science. The average age of your class is 26. Sixteen percent of your class is over the age of 30. Thirty-five percent of your class identifies as the first in their family to attend college. Twenty-eight percent identifies as a person of color. Six percent served in the military. Thank you for your service. Eleven percent identify as members of the LGBTQ plus community. Eight percent of you were born in another country, including Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, India, Jamaica, the Philippines, Russia, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom. New York City has been our most represented hometown for the last few years. So I was surprised when I ran the data and found out this year it is Providence. Your class speaks at least 16 languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, French, Tagalog, Urdu, Hindi, Japanese, Italian, Mandarin, Chinese, Portuguese, Yoruba, American Sign Language, Ancient Greek and Latin. Your class is a number of Division I athletes. They have played golf, lacrosse, rowing, cheerleading, soccer and football. And many of you have volunteered or coached in youth sports, including baseball, softball, gymnastics, hockey, lacrosse, cheer and soccer. Fun fact, one of your classmates even drives a unicycle. Sixty-six percent of your class identifies as female and 34 percent as male. Now, our class has been made up of mostly women for years. But your class takes it to a whole new level. We find this particularly interesting as this happened during the summer of Barbie. Yet, your class's applications had more mentions of horses than you would find at a mojo-dojo casa house. In all seriousness, though, your class stands out for its love of horses. In your class, you will find two barn managers, a horse trainer, a member of the equestrian team and a horse riding instructor. Honestly, it's safe to say that your class is full of nature and animal lovers. In your class, you will find dog walkers, shelter volunteers, fly fishers and a member of a beekeeping club. Your class even has a licensed veterinarian. The class of 2026 helps to conserve the Appalachian Trail and advocated for wildlife and captivity. It even has park rangers from both Rhode Island and Alabama. And it has someone who worked in a rare plant program in Hawaii. Yes, you have some amazing classmates. One of you is a town councilor in Westerly, Rhode Island. Now, you non-Rod Islanders or us non-Rod Islanders, I live in Boston, know Westerly better as the location of Holiday House, Taylor Swift's mansion. Your classmates have been teachers, paralegals and reporters. One of your classmates served in the Army and helped to reestablish Baghdad's court system in the green zone. Another received a Humanitarian Award for their service in the Navy. You have a classmate that founded a podcast about the Miami Dolphins, another who modeled for Talbots and Mellon in Haircare and someone else who short film won the Light in the Dark Film Festival. We even have a hemp clothing brand representative here. This law school seeks students who are mission focused and our mission is centered on social justice. Many of your classmates have already been deeply engaged in their communities. Your classmates have worked on amazing projects, like assisting at the Crossroads Rhode Island Domestic Violence Hotline, educating about sexual health in Utah, building houses for homeless queer youth, working at Community Legal Aid in Wester and hosting refugees on campus at Sienna College. At the home of the nationally recognized Marina Fairs Institute, it's not unusual to find classmates who have worked in and around the water. One of your classmates already has their tonnage license. Someone else sailed a replica of a 19th century boat from Florida to Maine. And another intern for clean water. Classmates have founded their town's anti-racism coalition that a culturally inclusive trauma informed committee for Thundermist Healthcare created social media platforms for Black Lives Matter and were active with the men of color initiative at Wagner College. Someone here interned with a member of parliament at the UK's Ministry of Justice during Brexit. Someone else did a legislative internship in the Indiana House of Representatives Republican Caucus. Another ran the front desk at former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker's office. One of your classmates was even a member of Joe Manchin's senatorial staff. I want to stop for a moment and acknowledge that some of you spent all your free time working just to make it through college financially. We see you too. If you worked as a barista at Starbucks, drove Uber, made burritos at Chipotle, pushed carts at Walmart, or worked as a trainer at Bubble Gum Shrimp, we honor your journey as well. I know some of you sitting right here right now are thinking you don't belong here. And that somehow I made a mistake admitting you. Imposter syndrome is real. So let me tell you a story. When I first started here at Roger Williams, one of the faculty members nonchalantly asked me where my father worked. I froze, unsure how to answer. You see, the answer was my dad worked at a law firm, but not in the way the law professor thought. My dad was the janitor. I froze. I was sure I did not belong in this space. That moment has stuck with me for 20 years, but I proudly stand before you today. Some of you are going to have moments just like that when something or someone makes you feel like you don't belong here. Roger Williams is not perfect, but I promise you we are trying. If I belong at this podium, I assure you you belong in that seat. We did not make a mistake. And for those of you who struggle with imposter syndrome, trust me when I tell you that many of us feel like we are faking it until we make it too. And if you ever need that reminder, please come find us in admissions. I also promise you that many more of your classmates will feel that way over the next few weeks. Let's all work to normalize discussing the fact that we're feeling that way. My team and I are excited to be on this journey with you. Those of us in the admissions office have been anxiously awaiting your arrival. For a very long time, we won't be forgetting about you and we ask you not to forget about us. My team, all here tonight, Kate, Juliana, Thomas, and Wendy all want to say thank you. Thank you for opening up and sharing your powerful stories with us. It has been a privilege getting to know all of you. Please don't be a stranger to the admissions office now that you are officially here. We are excited to embark on this journey with you and see how each of you will change the world. And on behalf of all of us at Roger Williams University, welcome to law school. And now it is my pleasure to officially introduce Dean Gregory Bowman. Dean Bowman graduated from West Virginia University with a BA in economics. He holds a master's degree in economics from the University of Exeter in the UK and his JD from Northwestern. In the spirit of my earlier remarks, Dean Bowman lived in Denmark, speaks Danish, and enjoys woodworking and building furniture when he actually has free time. Dean Bowman has practiced international trade law in Washington DC and Chicago. His work involved trade sanctions in North Korea, espionage, money laundering, bribery, really, really boring stuff. He began his teaching career at Mississippi College of Law before joining the Law Faculty of West Virginia University. He became the Dean of West Virginia in 2014 and joined us three years ago. With that, I am thrilled to hand the Class of 2026 over to Dean Bowman.