Education was a big reason why Massachusetts State Senator Katherine Clark ’85 decided to run for office.
“I want to make sure college remains affordable and accessible for everyone,” she says.  “St. Lawrence is where I discovered the importance of having a broad knowledge base that prepares you for a career you’ve dreamt about, but also careers you never envisioned yourself doing.  Everyone should have that opportunity.”

When the history major graduated from St. Lawrence, she pursued her dream to be an attorney and graduated from Cornell Law School in 1989. She worked as an attorney and as a prosecutor but returned to school after developing an interest in the public sector. After graduating with her master’s in public administration from Harvard in 1997, she slowly transitioned into a career in politics.

“I never saw myself running for office, but it’s a tremendous privilege to do what I’m doing. I’m honored to represent the people of my district and make a real difference in our communities,” she says.

Katherine was elected to the local school committee for six years and served as a state representative before being elected a state senator in 2010. All of her classes at St. Lawrence ended up connecting with one another, and she uses what she learned in all of them, particularly her history courses, in her current work. 

“Studying American history showed me how to use the lessons of the past to move forward,” she notes. “St. Lawrence gave me the skills to critically look at our history, our traditional values and ways our country evolved, and apply what we learned from our history to find solutions for our modern problems.”