This past summer, 3L Hamee Yong traveled to Germany and Poland for a unique opportunity to study ethical and moral situations in a historical context as part of the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE).
Yong was one of more than 80 graduate students and professionals in fields including law, business, journalism, medicine, religion and design and technology visiting Auschwitz and other historically significant sites in Berlin and Krakow. They also attended intensive seminars where they discussed how the actions of lawyers, business leaders and other professionals enabled the Nazi regime to commit widespread human rights abuses. Yong, who plans a career as a public defender, appreciated the opportunity to relate the past to contemporary issues in a profound way.
“The program gave me a set of tools to think critically about what motivates me to be a public defender and how to navigate my future career as a public defender,” Yong says. “The ability to be self-critical about your profession and your own personal goals is central to the theme of the program.”
Yong is the second USC Gould student selected as a FASPE fellow since the program launched in 2009. Katie Garcia ( JD 2020) participated in 2021.
Fellows come from multinational backgrounds, universities and organizations, providing important context with their diverse backgrounds and experiences.
“Every opportunity to talk to other fellows in the program, particularly from a different profession, was a great privilege in and of itself,” Yong says. “I learned a lot from each fellow who has led an impactful, interesting life and was not hesitant to share their personal perspectives on many modern-day challenges from global warming to social media and AI.”
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