Five takeaways a recent history graduate is taking to Law School from Clemson
Kelli Brabson ’25 is no stranger to doing hard things. A Wisconsin native, Brabson came to Clemson University by herself, knowing no one and having never stepped foot in South Carolina. Inspired by one of her high school teachers, Brabson confidently stepped into college with a history major and an interest in law. A chance encounter as a first-year student with Tim Garrison, pre-law advisor in the College of Arts and Humanities and director of the William Howell Pre-Law Society (of which Brabson is now president), set Brabson on a path toward success that has led her all the way to the University of Georgia School of Law.
Looking back on her Clemson education, Brabson notes some lessons she’s learned as a history student with a minor in legal studies.
1. It’s all in the layers
All history majors are required to take a sophomore and a senior seminar course. The seminar courses are structured around two basic principles, which build up to a comprehensive research paper in the senior course: peer discussion and source analysis.
Brabson credited her seminar professors, Rachel Anne Moore and Lee Wilson, for creating an open floor for peer discussion that pushed students to think beyond their own ideas and to try to understand the reasoning of others.
“When someone says something you disagree with, you learn how to explain your point and listen to their perspective,” Brabson said. “You learn to say you disagree, but respectfully.”
Brabson and her classmates sought to understand the layers of information that formed other people’s perspectives. From there, they could adapt and respond.
Source analysis fine-tunes the layered thinking that peer discussion introduces. Brabson gave an example from her sophomore seminar, which focused on the textual analysis of films.
“If we watch a movie that is portraying the Civil War, but it was produced during the years of the Vietnam War, there are influences of that time period in the film. That layered thinking is a skill I still use.”
2. Thinking on your feet isn’t spontaneous
In the fall of 2023, Brabson joined Clemson Moot Court, a course and competitive team that simulates legal arguments similar to cases that go before the U.S. Supreme Court. At the beginning of the academic year, lecturer Cary Kaye gave students a packet of facts about the case that they used to prepare for the competition.
On competition day, “You have to be prepared to the best of your ability for both sides,” Brabson said. “Thinking on your feet is huge.” But how do you prepare for that?
“It comes down to practice, practice, practice,” Brabson said.
Case-by-case, Brabson’s skills sharpened. “Each case that we analyze has a new precedent that you have to apply to your argument. It has really refined how I think and how I process legal material. I feel a little more confident about that.”
3. Let your specialty come to you
Specialization within a career field is a defining part of the early career process. Though pursuing a specialty may seem daunting at first, Brabson found that it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it might already be a part of who you are.
Brabson spent her college summers at a YMCA summer camp in Wisconsin. It was there that she began to identify an area of law she was interested in studying.
“I’m super interested in family law now because I was with those kids every day,” she said. “We worked with Child Protective Services sometimes, and that really opened my eyes to kids who need advocating for. They can’t do it themselves. Someone has to do it.”
Brabson didn’t know she was interested in family law, but she knew she wanted to help the people around her. Her specialty was born out of that. “You’ll figure out where you need to be and who you’re supposed to help,” she said.
4. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable
With a minor in Spanish, Brabson studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain, through a Clemson abroad partner, CEA CAPA. The program helped each student find an internship opportunity that matched their interests. In the beginning, it was unclear if Brabson would be able to find something related to law overseas, but she landed at a small immigration law firm with a big opportunity for personal growth: All of the legal proceedings were conducted entirely in Spanish.
Brabson chose to take it as an opportunity for growth.
“It made me realize I can do hard things,” she said. “That was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve done, working in an office in a foreign country and a second language with people who don’t speak my first language. But I’ve done it. So I know when more challenges come, I’ll be able to do it.”
5. Remember the person
As her time at Clemson came to an end, Brabson looked for ways to give back to the community that’s shaped her. As a senior, she joined the Clemson University Student Government (CUSG) judicial board.
The CUSG judicial board is the judicial branch of Clemson’s student government. The board exists to hear cases from students who have received violations from University police. Board members serve as either the student’s advisor or as a member of the jury. As an advisor, board members seek to understand the student’s perspective of what happened and help explain the situation to the jury, making sure the student isn’t going through the process alone.
“There’s a huge focus on sanctions that are educational rather than punitive. We try to give them things that will help them change,” she said. “Making sure the judicial process is to help the student has really impacted me. I think the whole point of the legal system is to help the person who is facing the issues.”
While there are many skills that Brabson is taking with her as she leaves Clemson, remembering the people she’s seeking to serve has helped ground her for the next chapter — and a lifelong journey of applying the law for the good of others.
