Class of 2025
Nakayama Scholar
Hometown: Princeton Junction, New Jersey
Majors: Economics and Public Policy
Minor: Computer Science
Vineet Chovatia is passionate about working to reform the criminal justice system and dismantle processes that have enforced cycles of oppression against indigent people and communities of color. In Vineet’s freshman year summer internship at the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, he saw the extent to which the criminal justice system systematically denies rights to indigent people. He continued work in public defense during his Duke in DC semester, where he assisted attorneys in the Special Litigation Division at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia in seeking post-conviction relief for individuals who had been sentenced under the age of 25. Over his sophomore summer, Vineet explored federal policy making as a legislative intern for Senator Cory Booker on Capitol Hill and observed the arduous legislative process first-hand. At Duke, Vineet is a researcher on the active investigations team of the Duke Law Innocence Project and serves as a teaching assistant for Dr. Thomas Nechyba’s Intermediate Microeconomics course. He also dances on Bull City Raas, Duke’s Raas-Garba team, and plays intramural soccer. After graduation, Vineet plans on pursuing work in public defense and civil rights litigation as well as policy advocacy.