The FAMU College of Law celebrated the accomplishments its more than 100 graduates at its solemn and celebratory Hooding Ceremony, a rite of passage marking their transition from students to colleagues-at-law at the at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Downtown Orlando.
The Class of 2026 now joins the ranks of more than 2,600 distinguished alumni of the reestablished FAMU College of Law, a network that spans the nation’s courtrooms, corporate suites, judicial benches and public service agencies. The ceremony drew a full house of university leadership, faculty, alumni, community leaders and jubilant families, all gathered to honor what university President Marva Johnson, J.D., called the law school’s “latest and finest chapter.”
The keynote address, delivered by Sia Baker-Barnes, president of The Florida Bar, struck a chord of both stark realism and soaring inspiration. In a powerful, direct message to the new graduates, she prepared them for the complex professional landscapes they are about to enter.
“It's important that you have a seat at every table. Some of these tables will welcome you with open arms,” said Baker-Barnes, the first Black woman to serve as president of the Florida Bar. “Some will invite you, but not include you. Some will resent you. And some, Class of 2026, will reject you. It will happen to you at tables in courtrooms, in boardrooms, and in spaces where decisions are made.”
Pausing for emphasis, she continued, “And not if it does, but when it does, do not accept it. Do not internalize it. Reject it. Class of 2026, do not allow yourselves to be limited by the limitations in other people’s heads.”
Her words resonated in a hall filled with graduates, many of whom will enter a profession still grappling with diversity and inclusion. She assured them that their “brilliance, strength, discipline, and innovation” were precisely what the legal field needs.
The FAMU College of Law represents a complex part of Florida's history. FAMU's original College of Law in Tallahassee was established in 1949 was closed in 1968, just after the Florida State University College of Law opened in 1965. The new College of Law was reestablished in Orlando in 2002, after more than 16 years of attempts through the Florida Legislature.
2026 grads of FAMU Law pose outside
of the original College of Law in Tallahassee.
“You join a distinguished tradition of advocates and counselors, men and women who were entrusted with upholding the rule of law and safeguarding rights and liberties that define our democracy,” President Johnson said. “That is not just a light thing. That is a calling.”
Jossie Louis, provided student perspective at the hooding ceremeony. Louis has served as the Student Bar Association’s Hooding and Graduation chair. She reflected on the shared journey of the past three years, marked by camaraderie and resilience.
“What makes this moment so meaningful is not just that we made it, but how we made it,” Ms. Louis said. “We leaned on friendships that became family… We learned that strength does not always look like having the right answer — it often looks like continuing to try when things just feel uncertain. To the Class of 2026 — we did it. And not just that, we are ready. Ready to lead, ready to serve, and ready to become true Rattlers for Justice.”
Cecil Howard, associate provost and interim dean, who presided over the ceremony, took a moment to recognize standout members of the class. He honored Kayla Carestia as the Class of 2026 Valedictorian for her outstanding academic record and Amber Newsome, president of the Student Bar Association for the 2025-2026 academic year, for her service and leadership.
As the new graduates filed out of the hall, their hoods, a symbol of their scholarly and professional achievement, draped over their shoulders, the sense was less of an ending and more of a commencement in the truest sense: a beginning. Armed with degrees, emboldened by their community, and mindful of the legacy they now carry, they step into a world where, as Ms. Baker-Barnes urged, they are already more than enough.