Mississippi College Law School Salutes Class of 2015

Courtney Powell of Hattiesburg and Taylor Prejean of Lake Charles, Louisiana are among the newest graduates of the Mississippi College School of Law. They are pictured at Friday's commencement at First Baptist Church Jackson.

Students from as far away as France, Brazil, Ghana and Iran participated in the Mississippi College School of Law’s spring commencement.

Whether they traveled from countries around the globe or from Southern states like Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama, the Class of 2015 at MC Law is certainly a distinguished group.

“We salute you. I hope Mississippi College will always be proud of your achievements,” President Lee Royce told the graduates at ceremonies Friday.

As hundreds of family members and friends looked on and snapped photos, Royce noted the Class of 2015 is the latest in a long line to receive diplomas at the nation’s second oldest Baptist college.

More than 46,981 diplomas have been awarded over the years at Mississippi College with its roots in Clinton established in 1826. The MC Law ceremonies on May 15 followed commencements on the Clinton campus last weekend.

The Class of 2015 is a stellar one. MC Law Dean Wendy Scott said the group includes Moot Court champions, extraordinary writers in legal journals, proven leaders and honors students.

Wrapping up her first year as the MC Law dean, Scott said the new graduates also have a heart for their community in Mississippi’s capital city. The students faithfully served at the Mission First Legal Aid Office at the law school in Jackson to assist needy Mississippians.

While their three years of legal studies are over, the new graduates will soon embark upon careers. Some will go to work at law firms or become judicial clerks. Others will take different professional paths. Moments before the ceremonies began, some members of the Class of 2015 say they will be busy job hunting in the weeks ahead.

The newest MC Law graduates include several from metro Jackson who also received their undergraduate degrees at Mississippi College. They included: Joshua David Ashley of Jackson, Leslie Wilson Barlow of Laurel, Rebekah Jordan Bland of Terry, and Benjamin Aaron Fritz of Clinton.

At Friday’s ceremonies, three honorary doctor of laws degrees were awarded.

The honors went to guest speaker Rev. Stan Buckley, former senior pastor at First Baptist Church Jackson. He is the founder of But God Ministries, a Christian non-profit that shares the love of Jesus Christ through building sustainable communities around the globe. The group brought hope to Haiti after a terrible 2010 earthquake killed as many as 230,000 people, injured 300,000 and left 1.6 million homeless.

Honorary doctor of laws degrees were also presented to X.M. Frascogna, Jr., senior partner in the Mississippi law firm of Frascogna Courtney, PLLC. He has over 43 years of experience as a civil trial attorney. In addition, he’s co-authored five books with his two sons, Mike and Marty Frascogna about Mississippi’s storied high school and junior college football culture.

Judge Daniel Jordan, who was sworn in on August 8, 2006 as one of the youngest United States district court judges in the nation, was the third honorary doctor of laws recipient. From 1993 until his appointment to the bench, Jordan practiced law with Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada PLLC, where he served in several leadership positions.