At the Ave Maria School of Law Annual Commencement Exercises, prospective graduates cross a threshold, shifting from efforts dedicated to preparing to become a member of the legal profession to the opportunity to apply that knowledge. The events not only recognize the completion of the educational program, they provide an opportunity for our graduates to reflect upon their accomplishment and acknowledge the support of their family and friends.
Gerard Bradley has been a Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame since 1992. Before then he taught at the University of Illinois College of Law and, before that, he was a trial lawyer in New York County District Attorney’s Office. For twenty-five years until 2019, Professor Bradley and John Finnis directed at Notre Dame the Natural Law Institute and edited The American Journal of Jurisprudence (published by Oxford University Press). Professor Bradley has been a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University and a Visiting Professor of Politics at Princeton. He served for many years as the President of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, as well as Chair of the Federalist Society’s Religious Liberties Practice Group. Professor Bradley is a Senior Fellow of the Witherspoon Institute, in Princeton, New Jersey. He serves (with Hadley Arkes) as Co-Director of the James Wilson Institute for Natural Rights and the Founding. He is a founding member of the American Academy of Catholic Scholars and Artists.
Professor Bradley’s first publication was a co-authored book on labor racketeering. His second book was a history of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Among his most recent books is Catholic Social Teaching: A Volume of Scholarly Essays, which he co-edited with Christian Brugger (published by Cambridge University Press). Saint Augustine’s Press will bring out a third collection of Bradley’s published and unpublished papers in 2024.
Professor Bradley met his wife when they were both law students at Cornell. They married in 1981 and have raised eight children. Four have become attorneys so far. They have seventeen grandchildren.
Lauren Hunter Gaudet is the daughter of R. Christian Gaudet (U.S. Army, Major Retired) and Phet S. Gaudet. She was born in El Paso, Texas, and was raised in Petal, Mississippi, where she attended church and school at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Lauren Hunter earned her B.A. in political science at the University of Southern Mississippi as a Luckyday Scholar, and she worked as a paralegal before attending law school at Ave Maria School of Law.
During her time at Ave Maria Law, she served as the President of the Moot Court Board and was an Admissions Ambassador, a member of Phi Alpha Delta, and a member of the Honor Board. She won the Robert H. Bork Internal Moot Court Competition and competed in the National Trial Competition. Lauren Hunter will be taking the Florida Bar Exam, and she and her future husband, Eli McGraw, will remain in the southwest Florida area. She currently works as a law clerk at Conroy Simberg in Fort Myers, Florida, where she plans to remain after graduation.
Lauren Hunter would like to thank her parents, her fiancé, and her two younger siblings, Aubrey Spears and Aaron Gaudet (U.S. Army, Private First Class), for inspiring her every day and for providing unwavering love and support. She is also thankful for her professors and her mentors at Ave Maria School of Law and at Conroy Simberg for praying for and motivating her throughout law school.
Friday, May 10 Baccalaureate Mass
6 p.m., St. Agnes Catholic Church
Sunday, May 12 Commencement Exercises
1 p.m. Artis-Naples
Graduation Fair
The Graduation Fair is scheduled for Friday, February 9, 2024. Prospective graduates will receive an appointment time to be photographed and order regalia and other graduation-related merchandise. The Commencement Information Form and Bar Course Commitment Form will be collected, including ticket reservations for the Commencement Exercises.
Commencement Tickets
Guests attending the 2024 Commencement Exercises are required to present a ticket for admission to the Artis-Naples this year. Tickets are free and must be reserved in advance. Seating is not assigned. Wheelchair seating is available. Candidates for graduation may request up to six (6) guest tickets using the Commencement Information Form at the Graduation Fair on February 11. Children who are less than 30 inches tall do not need a ticket but must sit on an adult’s lap during the ceremony without obstructing the view of other guests.
Additional ticket requests will be maintained by Dean Castro at kcastro@avemarialaw.edu. Candidates who anticipate they may use fewer tickets than they reserved on the Commencement Information Form are encouraged to notify Dean Castro so that those tickets can be made available to others. Commencement tickets may not be sold or copied.
Tickets will be distributed during cap and gown distribution.
Regalia Pickup and Return
Candidates will pick up their cap and gown from reception in the Administration Building, Dean’s Suite. Hoods will be presented during the Commencement Exercises.
All regalia must be returned following the Commencement Exercises to the designated area at Artis-Naples.
Wearing Regalia
Candidates should report for both the Baccalaureate Mass and the Commencement Exercises in cap and gown. The tassel should be worn on the right front of the cap. Students will be hooded as they cross the stage.
Baccalaureate Mass Instructions
Students of all faiths are encouraged to attend. Participants should report no later than 5:30 p.m. to St. Agnes Catholic Church. Do not bring valuable items as there will be no place to secure them during Mass. Mass begins at 6 p.m. During the Baccalaureate Mass, men should remove their caps at the end of the Opening Hymn and replace them at the end of the Mass at the beginning of the Recessional Hymn.
Commencement Exercises
The doors to the Artis-Naples open at noon on Sunday, May 12. Candidates for graduation should report no later than 12:15 p.m. (45 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony). The Marshals will arrange candidates in alphabetical order and distribute name cards to be handed to the announcer before crossing the stage. Do not bring valuable items as there will be no place to secure them during the ceremony.
The Marshals will lead candidates to reserved seating in the auditorium. Candidates remain standing until after the Invocation. Men should remove caps during the National Anthem, the Invocation and later during the Benediction.
When it is time for each candidate to approach the stage, the Marshal will indicate when a particular row is to stand. Candidates proceed to the stage, hand the name card to the announcer, proceed to the hooding table and then cross the stage.
At the end of the ceremony, the faculty will exit first. The Marshals will lead the candidates from the auditorium.
Graduation Announcements, Class Rings, and Diploma Frames are available for purchase. Orders can be placed at the Graduation Fair as well as other times of the year. A sample diploma frame is on display in the Bookstore.
Order regalia and other items from Herff-Jones at www.herffjones.com/college/graduation
Cap and Gown Rental
Graduates are required to wear graduation regalia consisting of a Doctor of Law gown, tam, and hood with our school colors. Students will order their regalia online.
The regalia is a rental unit and must be returned following the Commencement Exercises to the designated area at Artis-Naples. Graduates may keep the tassel and tam as a souvenir.
Graduation Announcements
Graduation Announcements are personalized with the graduate’s name and degree incorporated into the body of the announcement text. All personalized announcement orders will be shipped via UPS. Allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.
Class Rings
Among the traditions of graduating is the right to wear the official Ave Maria School of Law ring, which symbolizes years of achievement, pride, and hard work. The Ave Maria School of Law ring is an all gold signet ring featuring the official school seal. The ring may be customized with the graduate’s degree and year of graduation on the sides of the ring. If preferred, the sides of the ring may be left plain.
Diploma Frames
A line of custom-quality diploma frames that elegantly and distinctively combine the elements of aesthetics and preservation are available to graduates of Ave Maria School of Law. The frame allows your diploma to be removed and replaced at any time with ease. Mounting takes only minutes with the enclosed, simple-to-follow instructions.
Students may order from http://avemarialaw.universityframes.com
or
www.herffjones.com/college/graduation
A posed photograph of each student in graduation regalia and business attire is taken at the Graduation Fair. The photograph in regalia attire is used in the composite photograph of the graduating class. Students have the option to purchase photos. Orders should be placed at the Graduation Fair.
Baccalaureate Mass
Friday, May 10, 2024, 6:00 p.m.
St. Agnes Catholic Church
7775 Vanderbilt Beach Rd.
Naples, Florida
Directions from the Law School:
Proceed North on Vineyards Blvd to Vanderbilt Beach Road, turn right (east) 3 miles to the church entrance, just past Collier Blvd on the left.
Commencement Exercises
Sunday, May 12, 2024, 1 p.m.
Artis-Naples
5833 Pelican Bay Boulevard S.
Naples, Florida
Directions from the Law School:
Proceed north on Vineyards Blvd. to Vanderbilt Beach Road, turn left (west) 4.6 miles to US-41 (Tamiami Trail), turn left (south) 2.2 miles to Pelican Bay Blvd., turn right.
The following information is provided to facilitate arrangements for hotel accommodations for you and your guests on Commencement Weekend.
Best Western Naples Inn & Suites
Alternative Hotels within 10 Miles of Ave Maria School of Law:
Best Western Naples Plaza Hotel, 6400 Dudley Drive, Naples, FL (239) 643-6655
Courtyard by Marriott, 3250 Tamiami Trail N, Naples, FL (239) 434-8700
Hilton Naples, 5111 Tamiami Trail North, Naples, FL (239) 430-4900
La Playa Beach & Golf Resort, 9891 Gulf Shore Drive, Naples, FL (239) 597-3123
Naples Grande Beach Resort, 475 Seagate Drive, Naples, FL (239) 227-2182
The Ritz Carlton, Naples, 280 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples, FL (239) 598-3300
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