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Ken Kumayama
April 2007
Ken Kumayama is a first
year law
student volunteer who is
a consistent
participant in the Child
Support Project
at Superior Court. Ken
is also a member
of the ACLU, Phi Delta
Phi, the Asian
American Law Students
Association and
the Jewish Law Students
Association.
Ken’s enthusiasm and
willingness to
help clients is
infectious. He is very
good with clients and
gives detailed
attention to each file he
reviews. Ken
has ensured, through his
volunteerism
that countless clients
receive the proper
amount of child support
and thus has made
a measured difference in
the lives of many children in Pima County.
Ken was born in
Phoenix and raised in Glendale, Arizona. He received a dual
degree from
Northwestern University in integrated sciences and mathematics,
with a minor in
Japanese language and culture. Before entering law school Ken
worked for a
bioinformatics consulting company in Chicago and then set off for
Thailand and Japan
where he taught English and served as a department
manager for a
Japanese children’s education company. During that time Ken
developed a love
for teaching along with computer work and scientific research.
Ken’s view of the
legal system has changed since entering law school. He says
that his former
conception of the law was that it did not really center around
fairness. Now he
understands that at a “basic level the law is about fairness
and equity.” Ken
is hesitant to pick a favorite professor because he believes
so many have been
so great. He really enjoyed Professor Brent White’s civil
procedure class
because he felt encouraged to succeed and the class was
“enjoyable and
challenging.” He often walks out of Professor White’s class
feeling that he
“learned something new or gained some key insight” he was
lacking. When
Ken is not in school or volunteering for the VLP, you may
find him cooking
or watching an occasional DVD. Ken also practices
Brazilian Jujitsu
to keep up on exercise. Before law school took up so
much of his time,
Ken played chess, practiced Aikido and loved a game of
ultimate frisbee.
His favorite vacation destination is Thailand. He says the
food, people and
beautiful beaches are unbeatable.
When asked about his
experience with the VLP, Ken comments:
“I think volunteering is one of the best ways to help make the world
a
better place, so when I started law
school and heard all these great
things about the VLP programs,
naturally I was interested. Seeing
and experiencing how the legal
profession can irrevocably change
people’s lives is a powerful, sobering
experience. Being cooped up
in the law library all day tends to
put us law students out of touch
with reality. Interacting with, and
helping people at the child support
clinic definitely helps me remember
what the real world is like, and
why I came to law school in the first
place.”
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Past Outstanding Volunteer
Student Awards |
