Beckett Lee, Timothy Dwight College, Class of 2018

Beckett started learning German during his first semester at Yale and graduated with a double major in Political Science and German Studies. He was awarded the German Consulate Certificate of Outstanding Achievements in German and went on to spend his junior year studying abroad in Freiburg im Breisgau at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg. During his study abroad year, he served as an intern in the office of State Minister Helge Braun. After finishing his undergraduate studies at Yale and inspired by his work with public policy in Helge Braun’s office, Beckett went to law school at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. As part of UCI Law’s International Justice Clinic, Beckett worked with U.N. Special Rapporteur David Kaye to promote free speech and expression. Utilizing his unique perspective of German politics, history, and culture, Beckett contributed to projects that advanced international approaches to social media speech regulation and the protection of free expression. Beckett is now a licensed attorney whose legal practice has been significantly shaped by his experiences in Germany and as a student in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures.