Profiles: Warren Olandria ’94

What is your current profession?

Trademark attorney for the US patent and trademark office. We examine trademark applications with the Lanham Trademark Act

What is your biggest accomplishment since college?

My biggest professional accomplishment has been finishing law school and moving out to Washington D.C. for a job.

How has the UO had an impact on your life?

It was the first place that I was able to spread my wings away from parents and friends I grew up with and to make decisions on my own. I found that being from a more conservative background, the UO opened my eyes to many different things and so many different ways of looking at things.

Did you/do you have a mentor – someone that has helped you in your career or made a significant impact in the early years of your career?

Professor James Klonoski in the political science department made a big impact on my law studies. I took so many courses from him and he always had historical insight into things that were happening at the time. He pointed out the impact on the world in a historical way and how in some ways current events have happened in previous times. He got his points across in such a way that I learned a lot from him and I think he made me more interested in the subject matter.

What part of college made a significant difference in your life, made you who you are?

I think it was my fraternity. Delta Upsilon. The lifelong friendships that I gained there continue today. One of my best friends out here in DC is a frat brother, Rich Bernstein.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

I could see myself in private practice back in Oregon, returning to my roots where everything started and contacting old friends.

If you could be any color crayon (think box of 64, not just the 8 primary colors), what color would you be and why?

Yellow it reminds me of good times that I had at Oregon. With yellow, you stand out in the crowd.

Why is your continued connection to the UO and the UOAA important to you?

I felt it was important to have a way to be a part of that larger community although I am on the east coast, away from the university. It helped bring together people that are here in DC to create our own Duck community. The feeling I had when I first came here was that there are a lot of people living here that went to UO that want to connect to their community and they don’t know how.

This profile is going to be posted on uoalumni.com. Is there anything else that you would like readers/other alumni to know?

Don’t be afraid to seek out old friends from back in school because I guarantee you they would love to hear from you. You always feel bad that you don’t keep in contact with people, but I guarantee if you got in contact with them they would love it.