News November 08, 2021
This Mom’s Reaction to Her Son Passing the Bar Exam Is EVERYTHING! WATCH!

A mother is going viral for her sweet reaction to her son passing the bar exam!
Late last month on TikTok, Ray Curtis Petty Jr. — who graduated from WMU-Cooley Law School in 2020 — shared a nerve-wracking video of him finding out the results of his test, with his mom hovering over his shoulder.
After a few excruciating seconds, Petty clicks a link — revealing that he passed and will soon be able to practice law!
“He passed! He passed! My baby passed!” Petty’s mother exclaimed.
Toward the end of the touching clip, Petty expressed gratitude to his mother, telling her, “Thank you for everything.”
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Per a blog post from WMU-Cooley Law, Petty was selected as valedictory speaker for his graduating class, and was a recipient of the Thomas E. Brennan Scholarship — an award given to those who have demonstrated strong leadership skills.
“As a Black male attorney, my duty is to bring justice to the areas of injustice. Me graduating and getting into the legal field is a protest. We have seen people protest with their feet and their mouths, but what you see is me protesting with my career. I devote my life to a cause,” he told his law school.
However, Petty’s journey to becoming a lawyer was not easy.
During his final exams, Petty tragically lost his sister as he was going into his last semester. (Per a previous blog post, one of his three sisters was diagnosed with sickle cell disease and was told she “was unlikely to survive.”)
Additionally, per his Instagram post, Petty was told by his teachers that he should be in special education classes, was told by coaches that he was not smart enough to remember a playbook, and was denied by every law school before he was accepted into WMU-Cooley.
He also wrote that he previously took the bar exam and failed the first time.
However, Petty persevered and became the first attorney in his family!
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Congratulations to Ray on your well-deserved accomplishment!