 Now it's my honor and pleasure to welcome the class of 2023 valedictorian soon to be Attorney Jeffrey Pristosky to the podium to offer some valedictory Remarks This goes out to Professor David Logan So I'm not a traditional law student I'm 38 years old I have two children under the age of four including Shalom over here married to Lenny. Hi Lenny Before law school. I was a professional musician in the band called the Low Anthem Toured with Lucinda Williams and Lou Harris the avid brothers bar brothers Mumford and sons the National Iron and Wine Bruce Spring scene I even played on David Letterman three times Well being a non-traditional law student I'd like to take a non-traditional approach to this speech So if you wouldn't mind the help of a little guitar, I'll tell you a story called. This is how I did it I'll make it brief so we can all get our diplomas and get it get on to lunch One hell My one L year all my law school classes were online because of COVID my mother-in-law Ellen was sick with cancer at the time So we all stayed away for safety's sake You know Ellen would have really loved to be in this moment Celebrate with me today, but she passed away last year yesterday actually was her birthday Well anyhow, I failed my first law school midterm dang it. I had a long row to hoe Thanks One L one L. What does it mean? They want me to ride in an Iraq machine I put down my paper and I put down my pen never coming back to law school again too well Thank You Charlie When I first laid my eyes in that Conlaw textbook. I was like what kind of book is that it's longer than the Bible Luckily, we only read it in portions and in the fall my daughter was born my daughter's back there somewhere Which really shook up my study schedule Carrying that Conlaw book in one hand with my newborn daughter and the other on two hour overnight shifts on the couch really built my core strength My evidence professor was so stingy with excused absences that he wouldn't excuse my time in the hospital for my daughter's birth You should have seen me trying to call my friend Lex on the phone from our hospital room Because I couldn't hear any of the zoom lectures Luckily, we're all lawyers and we changed that excuse absences rule to include childbirth Sometimes rules just don't make any sense But to L to L. I'm feeling good. I think that I'm finally understood Issue rule analysis conclusion letting go all my confusion You know a day in the life's like a day on the road you're up at five in the heater The cold three years past has come to a draw fairly well Roger Williams law. All right Coming to the end now three L Clinics real clients learning how to lower electives. I was an intellectual property heaven copyrights trademarks entertainment law loved it all Unfortunately, there's no IP on the bar exam Well three L three L. We're almost there finish your rex LR is a bear too many subjects too little time But Iraq is still a good friend of mine You know we all have stories y'all have so many wonderful stories no matter what grade you got in the end You learn how to speak like the lawyer right like a lawyer be lawyers. You did it. I'm so proud of you I'm so proud of us a day in the life's like a day on the road Yeah, I'll bed five in the heat of the cold three years past has come to a draw fairly well Roger Williams Roger Williams law congratulations counselors So I went to a commencement and a musical broke out that was fantastic. Thank you very very much