I graduated from high school after a long year of studying to get the best marks for university. Uni was always on my radar and I always wanted to be an English/ history teacher, as they were my best subjects at school and I enjoyed studying them. But leading up to the HSC, I undertook work experience at Peter Berry Consultancy, a business management firm in Sydney, and was lucky enough to take a personality test which suggested that a law degree might suit me. Unfortunately, my marks didn’t reflect the standard needed to achieve a 92+ ATAR.
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Despite this, the University of Wollongong offered me a place in their Bachelor of Arts degree based on my application. I then attended an interview and explained that law was what I wanted to study, and that the Arts degree would only be a pathway for me to progress into law.
Luckily, I ended up receiving an early entry offer into a double degree of law and arts, and today I am in my fourth year of a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Communication and Media Studies, majoring in marketing and advertising. At school, I was part of the choir, band, SRC, sports teams, the peer mentor program and most importantly, debating and public speaking, which has helped me so much with my degree. Speaking confidently, developing strong arguments and quickly adapting to challenges is part of my every day-to-day now, particularly regarding my interest and involvement in politics since leaving school. In 2015, I took part in the Commonwealth Youth Parliament in Darwin, representing Australia among 52 other nations.
I have participated in the Women in Parliament program for a number of years and I’ve worked for three politicians across the Central West, Hume and Illawarra, which has given me a great understanding of what issues affect regional communities and the role of those in public office. Recently, I have worked with the NSW State Government regarding the proposal of stronger legislation for child sex offences, I’ve taken an interest in veteran’s affairs issues, working closely with the NSW RSL and have become a tutor for Indigenous students at UOW to help them succeed in their studies. I am passionate about rural kids getting the same opportunities as people from the city, and making sure that people start to value drive and determination more than academic results. For me, I think the only purpose of an ATAR is to act as a tool to compare HSC students across the country, and what they cannot measure is a person’s work ethic or passion. I would not have had the experiences or opportunities I’ve had without working hard and acknowledging where I have come from.
School gives you such an opportunity to better yourself and constantly strive for excellence, so my advice while you are there is to work hard, embrace the community that is helping you flourish, and never accept the limits that are projected on you – when people doubt my ability, it only makes me work harder to prove them wrong and strengthens my resolve to succeed.
