Meet Kinzie McDowell '23
legal studies and communications studies
Inspired by her community, Kinzie McDowell is forging her own path
When it came time to choose a college, Kinzie McDowell ’23 didn't beat around the bush. She made a beeline straight for Hamline University, knowing that its impressive legal studies program would help her achieve her goal of becoming a civil rights attorney.
"I've always been passionate about social justice and leaving the world better than I found it," said McDowell, a legal studies and communication studies major. "It's a stereotypical answer, but I want to help people."
Hamline is a very close-knit community—it draws people in. Everyone is invested in building connections.
McDowell is particularly inspired by Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Minnesota civil rights attorney and former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Minneapolis chapter. She has met Levy Armstrong on a handful of occasions, including at Hamline's spring 2022 Mahle Lecture series, "Let's Not Go Back To Normal: Racial Reckoning, Repair, and Reconciliation," where Levy Armstrong was a keynote speaker.
"She's this strong, powerful woman who has touched so many people's lives in a positive way," McDowell said.
McDowell plans to jump straight into law school after she graduates from Hamline, but she hasn't been sitting around waiting to make the world better. She's deeply involved in campus life as an academic peer mentor, a board member of Students Preventing Sexual Violence, and member of the new student programs board.
Highlights
Explore Hamline's legal studies major, learn about the Mahle Lecture series, and discover the 70+ student organizations on campus.
