Former Gramblinites Kourtni R. Mason and R. Jared Evans were recently sworn in as members of the Louisiana State Bar by the Supreme Court. The ceremony took place at the Ponchatrain Center in Kenner as retiring Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Katherine “Kitty” Kimble administered the oath.
Mason and Evans passed the July 2012 Louisiana Bar Exam on their first attempt after graduating from Southern University Law Center in May 2012.
Kourtni and Jared were honor students and graduated cum laude from GramblingState University.
Mason is a native of Monroe and graduated cum laude from Grambling with a Bachelor’s degree in political science in May 2008. She now works as an associate in the New Orleans office of King Krebs & Jurgens practicing primarily in the areas of Admiralty & Maritime law.
“I feel immensely blessed and honored to have accomplished a goal that I worked so very hard to achieve. If it were not for the encouragement of my professors at GSU and the academic training I received while at the institution, I would not have been prepared to accomplish the task. I would like to encourage all students of Grambling to remain diligent in the pursuit of your goals and aspirations. With dedication and fortitude, all things are possible,” said Kourtni.
While in law school, Kourtni served as Editor-in-chief of the Southern University Law Review and completed an internship for the Honorable Chief Judge Brian A. Jackson of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
Evans is from Natchitoches, and graduated cum laude from GSU in political science in May 2009. He currently works as a Governmental Affairs Attorney with the Louisiana House of Representatives. While in law school, Jared served as an editor of the Journal of Race, Gender, and Poverty, as an officer in the Student Bar Association, and as a recruiter for the law center. Jared also clerked for the land acquisitions program in the legal division of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
“Being sworn in as an attorney is the culmination of the journey that I started six years ago at Grambling. The training and hard life lessons that I learned at Grambling prepared me for the rigorous and challenging environment of law school and the bar exam,” said Evans.
He said, “I am a firm believer that if you can survive four or more years at Grambling, there is nothing that the world can throw at you that you will not be able to handle.”
At Grambling, Jared served as 2009 Senior Class President, President of Pi Gamma Mu National Honor Society, Vice-President of the Political Science Coalition, and as a member of the tennis team from 2007-2008. In 2008 Jared was named the most outstanding Junior in Political Science for the state of Louisiana by the Louisiana Police Jury Association. As a student, he also served as a legislative assistant to former State Representative Rick Gallot.
While at Grambling, Kourtni was a member of the Alpha Theta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Orchesis Dance Company, serving as caption of the Orchesis her senior year. She was also Miss Krimson and Kreme 2006 and Miss Cover Girl 2007.
“Being sworn in as an attorney is the culmination of the journey that I started six years ago at Grambling. The training and hard life lessons that I learned at Grambling prepared me for the rigorous and challenging environment of law school and he bar exam. I am a firm believer that if you can survive four or more years at Grambling, there is nothing that the world can throw at you that you will not be able to handle.”