Law and ʻOhana

Tonya Hamill

Class of 2028 – Hawaiʻi Online JD Student

Tonya is a first-year law student in the William S. Richardson HOJD program. Tonya graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in English Education and a minor in Psychology. She served as an officer for BYU Jail Outreach which aimed to reduce recidivism and improve post-release employment via academic advocacy. From 2013-14, Tonya was a Motiis Fellow in Mombasa, Kenya, where she researched and published on the topic of microfranchise as a business model to address economic scarcity in developing countries. Tonya worked for over fifteen years as an office manager at a Washington-based financial services agency. At Richardson, Tonya is a member of Phi Delta Phi. She has a keen interest in both property and environmental law, specifically the balance between real estate development and preservation of ranching, agricultural, and rich, diverse local wildlands.  

Raised in Hawaii Kai and Seattle, Tonya now resides in Orem, Utah, with her husband who is a Firefighter and their five children. Her Vietnamese heritage, including grandparents who were freedom fighters, then political prisoners during the Vietnam war, shapes Tonya’s multicultural, family-focused perspective as she approaches her legal studies.   

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“As a HOJD student, Richardson has afforded me the privilege to study law, and at the same time, succeed as a full time mom. I could not ask for a more nurturing and academically invigorating environment. I am surrounded by brilliant students and professors who lead by example, both in class and in their communities.”