CSULB legal eagle Harvard bound

Colombia, Harvard and Notre Dame -- these are just a few of America's upper-echelon universities. Cal State Long Beach graduate Kathryn Gainey had the luxury to pick any one.

Gainey, 22, a College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Graduate, is walking out of CSULB with a 4.0 GPA and a degree in philosophy and economics.

With aspirations in law, this legal eagle plans to land at Harvard University in August to pursue a juror's doctorate.

"My mother and I spent 48 hours at Harvard for an admitted students weekend and my intuition said yes," said Gainey, who lived in Palmdale and transferred to CSULB from Antelope Valley Junior College as a sophomore.

Gainey's strategy involves studying public interest law. This area involves working for government, nonprofit groups or clerking for a judge rather than working for a private firm.

"Basically I'll be working for a lower salary for less crazy hours and I appreciate that because life is not work," Gainey said.

Igniting Gainey's interest in law were two internships. The first as a sophomore was at the Long Beach Superior Court House, where she observed courtroom action and then discussed it with judges afterward. The second took place in fall 1999 in a Fullerton law office, Dolnick & Dolnick. The advice and support from Keith and Jeremy Dolnick helped Gainey survive the nightmare process of applying to law school.

Gainey's interests include teaching law and the development of the global society. 

"In economics we talk a lot about the global economy and how the world is shrinking and everything is increasingly becoming more connected," Gainey said. "So I would like to do something like that and combine that with law."

Gainey was able to blend economics, law and philosophy for her senior thesis on the indigenous people in Ecuador's lawsuit against Texaco.  These people said their human rights were violated due to pollution by oil production.

"I see law as a vehicle of social change, problems that we have in society we have the courts come in and make a positive difference in resolving the conflict," Gainey said. 

Gainey's success stems from supportive parents who happen to be CSULB graduates.

Susan Gainey studied nursing and now works in Long Beach as a case manager for a center helping welfare recipients make the transition back into the work force.

James Gainey majored in psychology and is a California deputy labor commissioner, who deals with wage disputes.