Ruth Reese Lane, immigration attorney and Scripps alumna, will deliver the keynote address at the College’s 91st Commencement exercises on Saturday, May 22, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s ceremony will be virtual.
“I am very excited to join in honoring the class of 2021, who have had to finish their college careers in such challenging times,” says Lane. “I look forward to welcoming them to the bold group that is the Scripps alumnae community.”
After graduating from Scripps in 1992, Lane began her career working with the Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services in El Paso, where she served as the outreach coordinator for the Diocese’s antidiscrimination program. She then moved to Dallas and continued her work with immigration legal services as an accredited representative while earning a master’s degree in political science from the University of Texas at Arlington and a law degree from Southern Methodist University. Now, she serves as an immigration attorney with her own private practice. She is past president and a member of the Arlington Bar Association, a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and a board member of Legal Aid of Northwest Texas. Lane remains connected to The Claremont Colleges as a parent as well as an alumna: Her daughter is a sophomore at Harvey Mudd College.
Scripps senior class co-presidents Amelia Hahn and Alexa Sanchez managed the commencement speaker selection process. Hahn says that Lane rose to the top of the candidate list for several reasons, including her commitment to social justice, her advocacy for others, her reflection of the diversity of the Scripps community, and her role as an alumna.
“It was clear that seniors wanted a speaker who exemplified the characteristics that Scripps instills in us: resiliency, self-confidence, and a passion for making change,” Hahn says. Adds Sanchez: “It will be great to have an alumna speak at graduation, especially in a year when we cannot all be together. She can truly speak to the strength of the Scripps community.”