Nate Behncke

Hello! My name is Nate Behncke, and I'm a third-year law student. I am originally from Wisconsin but have spent time living in Alaska, Maryland, Arizona, California, Idaho and Illinois. Growing up as an Army brat, I developed a love for travel and was guaranteed to spend no more than three years in any given spot.

I graduated from Centennial High School in Boise, Idaho, and received my undergraduate degree in criminology from Kansas State University in May 2004. Following college, I spent five years working in finance, the majority for a division of Mercedes-Benz. After a few major career changes, I decided to move toward a lifetime goal of mine – attending law school – and spent a year preparing for that.

I will say coming out of the workforce and back to school is quite the adjustment, but largely law school is a job. I think bringing that attitude with me has helped me be successful, and I encourage any potential students to view it the same way. At the same time, make sure to devote some time to leisure and get active in law school. KU Law has so many extracurricular activities devoted to any aspect of law and legal culture. In my first year, I participated in Traffic Court as an attorney prosecuting and defending on-campus violations, worked with prospective students as a Student Ambassador, and spent my summer as a clerk for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Topeka. During my second year, I added a term as senator to the KU Student Senate, and working during the summer as an extern of the Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence and Post-Conviction Remedies. My favorite moment so far was meeting retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor at the Dole Institute during my 2L year.

The opportunities here are numerous and frequent. If you're bored here, you aren't trying hard enough! Lawrence is a great town, and just a short trip to Kansas City.

If you have any questions, please contact me at nateb@ku.edu