A bit about yourself?
I’m in my 4th year of a Bachelor of Law/International Studies. In terms of what I do at uni, I’ve been involved with the Law Society for a couple of years now in the Skills portfolio. I’ve done a lot of Negotiation competitions both domestically and overseas. I’m also a law peer tutor with the UNSW Law Faculty.
How are you finding the Law Peer Tutoring (LPT) program and how did you get involved with the LPT?
I actually got involved in the program in quite an interesting way. Following the semi-finals of the Beginners Negotiations, Dr Dominic Fitzsimmons – the organiser of the LPT program and the judge for that particular round, told me about the program and whether I was interested. I sent him my details and was fortunate enough to get accepted, which is how I got in.
I really love the LPT program and I’ve had really great students. For me, it’s been so nice to see students genuinely develop themselves and their confidence levels, and also see them learn so much over the course of a semester or trimester. I love staying in touch with students too and seeing them around at uni is always great.
Other hobbies?
I have got a lot more spare time at the moment – I go to the gym, started playing volleyball and have been trying to spend more time with family, especially because it has been extremely busy in the past couple of months with uni, work and events.
Do you feel pressured by people looking up to you?
I guess I personally don’t think of myself that way. I don’t necessarily think of myself as a role model in my everyday life. So I guess maybe I don’t feel that type of pressure? The way that I approach things and people is more that I like to stay in contact with people and I like to help others where I can. So usually that looks like helping people with applications or their uni work or if they have a random question – because of that, maybe that’s why people seem to know me?
The reason I like to help others is because I want to pay it forward. I’ve definitely had older students or other people generally help me out in a minor way, but it has made a huge difference to me and my life.
Any advice to law students in their earlier years?
Get involved early and don’t be afraid of doing so. Imposter syndrome – where you feel like you don’t belong. I feel like I’ve had that myself but honestly, it is just an internal feeling. But I think that kind of mentality can hold you back from participating in certain activities or even just applying. Literally the worst that could happen is that you don’t get it. There’s so many opportunities and especially for younger students there’s just so much time. Put yourself out there and try things to find your passion.
How have you dealt with internal pressure?
Personally, growing up, interestingly I have never been pressured by my parents. I have had to learn how to manage my own pressure and it all comes from me. I think I used to feel like I always wanted to do everything and do everything well. And obviously the more you pick up, the harder it is to manage your time. So I think when I approach things, I consider whether I really want to do this and what am I going to gain out of this. For example, going to the International Competition, I sort of sat down and thought to myself as to what I am going to feel depending on how it is going to go – and I set a goal for myself that no matter what the outcome is, I just want to meet people and learn more about their lives. If I do well, I do and if I don’t do well, at least I’ve met lots of great people and had an enriching experience.
One way of avoiding pressure and expectations is through understanding that winning is not the only goal, as there are multiple goals such as meeting new people and getting to know these people and their experiences. I know this is easier said than done but you have to just be confident in yourself, and take forward what you have learnt. Because you can either be the person who takes forward negativity or think about what you can do better next time. So it’s just a matter of always trying and not putting yourself down for anything.
Top study tips?
Group study helps a lot. I think law particularly is a degree that you should be studying with people and with groups because that is where you would hear arguments and different opinions and things you hadn’t thought of, which is what part of being a good lawyer in practice is.
I used to always get together with a group before our exams and write a list of topics that we needed to know and could literally teach each other our strengths. Also, doing problem questions before exams is extremely valuable. I feel like you should spend just as much time on problem questions, as you do on your notes. It is always a good idea to start with the problem question. Yes, you won’t know a lot of things but at least now you know what you don’t know, and now you can go back and do the content because it puts the content into context. Because otherwise you are learning all these things and don’t really know what the point is, so you end up feeling as if there’s this mountain of stuff to do.
Wellbeing at Law School 
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