Katina Holloman Lett ’94 decided to become an attorney when she was 5 years old watching “Perry Mason.”
“I loved the part where the defendant would say ‘OK, OK, I confess. I did it,’” she says. “I wanted to right wrongs. I still do.”
That’s why she loves her work with the American Cancer Society. Now in her third year as senior counsel in the organization’s global headquarters, Lett finds great satisfaction in her work — whether negotiating laptop leases for IT or considering legal implications with research and development.
“Most of the millions of dollars raised for research comes from people giving $25, so we are very considerate of where money is going,” she says. “Everyone has been touched in some way by cancer, which makes the people who work here passionate about furthering the mission of the organization.”
Lett grew up in Spartanburg. She’s convinced that sometimes her father would drive past Wofford’s front gates just so he could say: “You see that fountain. That’s where you’re going to college.” Wofford’s reputation for preparing future attorneys for law school was also a plus.
Lett joined ROTC at Wofford to become an Army officer and obtained a three-year scholarship. Through ROTC she gained leadership skills and overcame her share of obstacles, not the least of which was carrying a log around campus as part of ranger training.
“My Wofford memories are so heavy on ROTC … ‘Here’s the log. You’re going to carry the log. You’re going to live with the log.’ … Do they still have to carry a log around campus?” Lett smiles at the trip down memory lane. “Without challenges, though, you don’t become a stronger person.”
Lett met her husband, J., also an attorney, at the University of Georgia School of Law. They have two sons, Jason (17) and Justin (13).
“People always say do what you love, but you have to do what you love that you also can excel,” says Lett. “I’ve been really blessed with a job I love, with the experiences I’ve had and with the people I’ve met.”
By Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington '89