Sam Smith | William S. Richardson School of Law

Sam Smith

Class of 2022

Sam Smith is a first-year law student and is planning on graduating in May 2022. Born and raised in the Salacoa Valley of Georgia, a rural farming community outside of Atlanta, he is a graduate of Cherokee High School. He graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Psychology, his research focusing on autism, creativity, and the Dark Triad personality disorders. After graduation, he moved to Hawai‘i after receiving a position working with Hale Kipa through the AmeriCorps. He applied to Richardson after he decided his next step was to become a Marine Corps Judge Advocate. Currently, he is a Vice President of the Pacific Asian Legal Studies Organization (PALSO), a member of Delta Theta Phi, and on the party-planning committee for Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL).

  • Has a guard donkey at home in Georgia named Ms. Peaches
  • Worked as a high ropes course facilitator throughout his undergraduate
  • Spent a summer working at a school for autistic children in Agadir, Morocco
  • Loves Crossfit, running, soccer, and karaoke 
  • Career ambition is to become a war journalist

Students Speak

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    Be qualified, be prepared, ask if you don't understand, and trust yourself.”
    Adil Kutbi
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    It is not often that you can find a law school in which your classmates actively seek ways to support you and root for your success.”
    Ian Falefuafua Tapu
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    It is because Richardson allows me to obtain the legal knowledge to give back to my ‘ohana, kaiāulu, and lāhui, that I am able to remain rooted in who I am as a kanaka maoli.”
    Tehani Louis-Perkins
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    I chose UH Law because I wanted to experience studying in Hawaiʻi, and I learned that the School has an excellent Environmental Law program. My graduate degree fellowship with the East-West Center is also tied with enrollment at UH.”
    Aya DeLeon
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    At Richardson, we’re learning how to be competent lawyers and, more importantly, good people.”
    Kenneth Go
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    There’s something special about being able to say, ‘I’m learning how to be a Richardson lawyer,’ that carries a sense of pride, community, and legacy.”
    Caroline Kikkawa
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    I knew I would get a great education at Richardson, but Iʻve come to equally value the support network and comradery of my classmates and the faculty.”
    Hōkū Chun
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    There’s a strong sense of belonging when you step onto campus. Whatever the day is going to throw at you, whatever the next challenge may be, you’ve got people ready to fight right alongside you.”
    Kelly Kwan
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    I have been overwhelmed by the encouragement from other students and the faculty and the commitment to see every student thrive and succeed.”
    Devon Haia
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    There is a feeling of being one family. Everyone is working to help us to succeed.”
    Firas Trabulsi

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