Commencement Justice
Just when you’d given up on the quality of this year’s commencement speakers, right triumphs in unexpected places.
Take Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg Maryland, where Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was this year’s commencement speaker.
It all started when Justice Thomas, a football diehard who’s married to a Nebraskan, ran into one of Quince Orchard’s top jocks, Terrence Stephens, on a return flight from a U. of Nebraska recruiting session. He began a conversation that amazed Stephens and his fellow student Jason Ankrah, because “this guy knew so much about us as football players and as people.”
“That was shocking. I felt honored to be known to someone of his caliber. He was just a regular old guy, sitting in coach, which really shocked me.”
The airborne conversation inspired Stephens to extend an invitation to Thomas to speak at his commencement, which the Justice accepted.
At the event, Thomas told the school that “these young men had no idea who I was as I formed my first impression as just another stranger to them. They were wonderful ambassadors for your school and for their fellow students.”
Deborah Lambert writes the Squeaky Chalk column for Accuracy in Academia.
Deborah Lambert
