Abby Kassal
Spring 2023 John Jay Fellow
Hometown: Littleton, CO
College: University of Texas at San Antonio
Degree: B.A. in Politics and Law & Criminal Justice
Abby Kassal graduated Summa Cum Laude and Honors with Distinction from the University of Texas at San Antonio in December of 2022, with a B.A. in Politics and Law and Criminal Justice. She wrote her senior paper on Christianity in the American Founding, specifically focusing on the “pursuit of happiness.”
Abby competed as a student-athlete on the UTSA women’s soccer team for 4 years, ending her career with UTSA soccer’s first ever Conference USA tournament championship win. Outside of athletics, she served as President of the service-oriented club, OneGoal, from 2020-2021, and served as the Treasurer of the Undergraduate Political Science Association in 2022. She is also a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society.
As a member of the Honors College, Abby participated in the Archer Fellowship Program in the spring of 2022, giving her the opportunity to live and work in Washington, D.C. for a semester. There, she interned at The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, where she co-authored six articles with three different legal fellows and worked on the Defensive Gun Use database. Her experience at The Heritage Foundation was transformational, introducing her to working in a value-oriented, mostly Christian community and inspiring her to apply to the John Jay Institute.
In her free time, Abby enjoys spending time with family and painting. She commissions dog portraits through her business, Art by Abby Flynn, and loves bringing joy to people through these paintings.
After her time at the John Jay Institute, Abby plans to attend law school, and she hopes to discern a potential path into graduate studies in political philosophy during her time at the Institute.