—They came to South Royalton from near and far, and their paths to Vermont Law School were diverse and varied. Before arriving on campus this week, the incoming students at Vermont Law School were elementary school teachers and police offers, general contractors and social workers. They were biologists and solar power technicians, journalists and EMTs. 

On Monday, President and Dean Thomas McHenry welcomed 275 new students to Vermont Law School, including 195 JD students, 60 Masters’ students, 13 LLM candidates, and eight exchange students from foreign law schools.

“We are thrilled and honored to welcome such a diverse and qualified class,” said McHenry. “You students are the reason we’re here. You’re the reason we provide the challenging professional training that we do.” 

The new students have worked in government, at the Environmental Protection Agency and USAID, and for sitting members of Congress including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth.  Others have worked at the National Science Foundation, in schools and institutions of higher education, at non-profit organizations and on dairy farms. At least one was a “certified coffee sensory professional.”

The incoming class includes veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and the National Guard.

The newest class of Vermont Law School students come from 39 states—from Massachusetts to Mississippi, from Washington D.C. to Washington state—and 11 countries, including China, Canada, Kenya, Ghana, Israel, Uganda, South Korea, Italy, France, Peru, and Russia.

They graduated from 200 undergraduate colleges, where their most popular major was Environmental Science/Studies, followed closely by Political Science/Studies. 

The incoming JD class is 21% larger than last year’s class, a testament to the value these students put on using the power of the law to address urgent environmental and social challenges.

McHenry told the gathered group of a conversation he had with recent graduates, where he asked them: What makes Vermont Law School special? “Their fellow students,” he relayed. “They found their colleagues here at Vermont Las School to be purposeful. They come to Vermont Law School because they want to do something useful and purposeful with their professional training.”

The new students also heard from the Chairman of the Royalton Select Board, Larry Trottier, who welcomed them to follow the lead of current students and alumni and get involved in the local community by volunteering and participating in local government. “VLS has been very good to the town of Royalton and surrounding communities,” Trottier said.  “The Town of Royalton really appreciates you folks, and we look forward to working with you.” 

SBA President Kyle Clauss also welcomed the new class. “I’m starting to believe that we’re called to this place,” Clauss said. He spoke of the importance of purpose-driven professional training in this time of political and social uncertainty and growing inequity.

“I know of no other place that can nourish the mind and the soul in equal parts quite like this brave little school here,” said Clauss. “Here at VLS you will feed that flickering flame into a blazing torch so that you may carry it into the darkest forgotten corners of society. We have a world to rebuild, and as I look around I see precisely the lucky few fit for that task. Never ever forget you have been called to this place. So how will you answer?”  

To close the ceremony, Vermont Supreme Court Justice Beth Robinson administered the Oath of Professionalism to the new students. “We’re counting on you to put it all back together for us in the years to come,” Robinson said, before asking the students to rise and repeat the Oath.

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Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, is home to the nation’s largest and deepest environmental law program. VLS offers a juris doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service; four master’s degrees—Master of Environmental Law and Policy, Master of Energy Regulation and Law, Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy, and Master of Arts in Restorative Justice; and four post-JD degrees —LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers), LLM in Energy Law, LLM in Environmental Law, and LLM in Food and Agriculture Law. The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center, South Royalton Legal Clinic, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, Energy Clinic, Food and Agriculture Clinic, Center for Applied Human Rights, and Center for Justice Reform. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.