Elena Kagan

Elena Kagan serves on the United States Supreme Court. She grew up in a middle class family in New York City, the middle child and only daughter of Robert Kagan, an attorney, and Gloria Gittelman Kagan, an elementary school teacher. Living in a third-floor apartment in Manhattan, her family emphasized the value of education and the law. She was an independent child who excelled academically and took an interest in her Bat Mitvah, and hers was the first formal one that had been conducted by her Synagogue. As she grew up, she took an avid interest in current events and the law and aspired to become a lawyer. After graduating from high school, she attended Princeton University and became editorial chair of "The Daily Princetonian," which was the prominent school paper. She graduated with top honors, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History. After Princeton, she attended Oxford University and earned a Master of Philosophy in 1983. She received a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, at Harvard Law S