Kassie Kometani

What made you want to come to Lewis & Clark?

Lewis & Clark checked all of my boxes when I was searching for a college. I wanted smaller class sizes to develop relationships with peers and professors, a beautiful location to learn, and the opportunity to continue swimming competitively.

What have you been doing since graduation?

I continued my education and earned my law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School. After graduating and passing the bar, I moved to Boston to begin my career as an attorney with the U.S. EPA.

How did Lewis & Clark prepare you for post-college life?

I felt very prepared when I began law school due to the reading and writing intensive courses I took at L&C. My college professors encouraged me to think critically and dig deeper, and those are skills I applied heavily while in law school. The classes specific to my Environmental Studies major also provided me with helpful background knowledge to study environmental law.

What would you say is the most important thing you learned at Lewis & Clark?

I learned so much, but if I had to narrow it down to the most important thing, it would be to never just accept the status quo. There are always ideas to be pursued, improvements to be made, and justice to be sought. I have Lewis & Clark to thank for encouraging this mindset, and it has been incredibly important for me in my work to protect both the environment and communities who face disproportionate burdens from problems such as pollution and climate change.

Why did you major in Environmental Studies?

I knew I wanted to become an environmental lawyer, so I majored in environmental studies to gain a better understanding of environmental problems and their potential solutions. The ENVS program at Lewis & Clark was perfect for me because it was interdisciplinary and allowed me to learn about the environment from historical, sociological, and scientific perspectives.

How do you stay connected to Lewis & Clark as an alum?

It was pretty easy to stay connected to Lewis & Clark as an alum for the first three years since I was just down the hill for law school. Now that I’m on the opposite side of the country, I love keeping up with news of student accomplishments both in the classroom and on their sports teams.

What was your favorite class (title and professor)? How did it expand your knowledge?

One of my favorite classes was (un)Natural Disasters with Professor Liz Safran. We explored how humans respond to catastrophes such as earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as how human activities have shaped some of the environmental disasters we experience today.

Where did you find your community on campus?

I found a community with my swim team. We all came to L&C for different reasons, but swimming brought us together.