The University of St. Thomas School of Law conferred degrees to 170 students on May 17, 2025. Among them, 145 students earned their Juris Doctor (J.D.), 15 earned an LL.M. in U.S. law and 10 earned a master’s degree in organizational ethics and compliance.
Professor David Grenardo, who was elected professor of the year by the Class of 2025, hooded the graduates. University of St. Thomas President Robert Vischer conferred the degrees.
In his opening remarks, Dean Daniel Kelly encouraged the Class of 2025 to memorialize the day.
“Today is your day. Today is a day to celebrate,” he said. “It is a day of joy, a day to think back about your time at the law school, and a day to recall all the hard work. It is a day to dream big about the future. You are together as a class, in your caps and gowns, with loved ones surrounding you – this moment is one to savor. We honor and congratulate our graduates.”
Class achievements
The J.D. class performed more than 10,441 hours of public service work over the course of their legal education. St. Thomas Law requires each student to perform a minimum of 50 hours of community service on the belief that all lawyers have an obligation to share their skills and knowledge. Nineteen members of the class volunteered more than 100 hours over the course of their law school careers. One, Jordan Juenger, contributed more than 400 hours of service to the community.
Five members of the Class of 2025 were recognized with Mission Awards during law school. The annual awards honor law students, faculty, staff and alumni whose activities and work exemplify the school’s mission, vision and values.
It is a tradition of each graduating J.D. class to give a collective gift to the law school. This year’s gift was coordinated by class representatives Jill Schneider and Merryn Wier. The Class of 2025 chose to fund a new picnic table and umbrellas outside the law school’s main entrance and achieved 100% class participation in their fundraising efforts.
Keynote speaker President Emeritus Father Dennis Dease
Father Dennis Dease, University of St. Thomas president emeritus, gave the keynote address.
Father Dease served as the 14th president of the University of St. Thomas from 1991-2014. It was during his tenure that the university decided to rebuild and reopen St. Thomas’ School of Law after the first one closed in the 1930s amid the Great Depression.
During his remarks, Dease shared parts of the law school’s history and spoke about the Board of Trustees’ goal in establishing a Catholic law school.
“The St. Thomas School of Law has grown from a bold vision into a nationally respected institution, ranked among the best for practical training, ethics and student satisfaction,” he said. “Its graduates are making a difference in law firms, courtrooms, nonprofits and underserved communities worldwide. The school’s mission – to integrate faith and reason in the pursuit of truth and in the service of the common good – is alive and thriving.”
Class speaker Marian Farah
This year’s elected student speaker was Marian Farah. During law school, among her numerous activities, Farah served as president of the law school’s Black Law Student Association (BLSA), American Constitution Society and Aspiring Oral Advocates club, which she founded. She also competed as part of the Constance Baker Motley Trial Advocacy and the Religious Liberties Moot Court teams.
Farah was awarded the 2024 Justice Anne K. McKeig Award for Distinguished Student Leadership from the American Constitution Society Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter and received the law school’s 2L Living the Mission award.
She completed internships with U.S. District Court judges Jerry W. Blackwell and Michael J. Davis, UnitedHealth Group and Standpoint, which advocates for victims of domestic and sexual violence. Last year, Farah was a summer associate at Stoel Rives LLP in Minneapolis and was recently hired as a litigation associate at the firm.
She earned her bachelor’s from Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.
In her commencement remarks, Farah spoke about the journey through law school and thanked the loved ones and law school faculty and staff who supported her and her classmates over the past three years. She also talked about the future and how St. Thomas set a course for the graduates’ legal careers.
"We’ve been called to more than professional excellence,” she said. “We’ve been challenged to integrate faith and reason in the search for truth – to pursue justice with both intellect and conscience. Our school’s mission reminds us that law is not only about solving problems – it’s also about asking the right questions. Questions that center morality. Questions that consider dignity. Questions that move us toward something better.
“So as we go out into courtrooms, classrooms, boardrooms and beyond, let’s not forget what brought us here. Let’s carry forward the lessons of our education – not just the legal principles, but the values behind them. Let’s be principled in our thinking, grounded in our service, and open to learning every step of the way.”
