Why did you choose Monash Law?

 

The double degree pathway is what initially appealed to Kirsti about studying law at Monash. She originally wanted to be a legal reporter and thought that a background in law would not only motivate her to write but also provide the necessary knowledge to report accurately on the justice system. However, what importantly made Kirsti decide to continue at Monash were the diverse opportunities, the clubs on campus and the exceptional lecturers available. In particular, she enjoyed the human rights electives on offer as well as the privilege of having the Castan Centre for Human Rights as part of the faculty.

 

What is your current role?

 

After spending a year of volunteering at Victoria Legal Aid, Kirsti is currently employed at their Frankston Office. Her role mainly involves administrative work such as drafting letters and performing reception duties, but also provides the opportunity to help triage clients down at court.

 

Kirsti also continues to volunteer for WEst Justice, as part of the School Lawyer Project. This means that Kirsti is based at a school in Werribee and assists Vincent Shin, the school  lawyer, provide the young students and their parents with access legal services for matters including family violence, employment law and consumer protections.

 

How did you find your passion – i.e. what kind of steps did you take to determine your interests?

 

Kirsti says she always wanted to work in a creative space and empower people to find their voice and strength. She knew that commercial law was never for her and found that trying a bit of everything in the public sector – from clerking at the Victorian Government Solicitors’ Office to volunteering at CLCs – helped her find what she enjoys.

 

She highly recommends CLC work as they have what has been called a ‘trifecta’ effect, where they not only provide legal assistance to disadvantaged members of society but also undertake policy work and community education. She understands that although more people like commercial law, it is more about ‘doing something that you find interesting.’ One path she pursued after undertaking an animal law elective was to volunteer at animal protection organisations including Voiceless and Lawyers for Animals.

 

What kind of extracurricular activities did you pursue during your degree and are there any you would recommend to others?

 

‘I tried a bit of everything, although I went quite heavily into finding journalism work before I realised it was not right for me. It did give me the confidence to reach out to people I admired and ask them questions about their work. Nevertheless, it was only when I started volunteering at Youth Law where I realised how valuable legal services can be and how amazing it is to work with young people as a law student.’

 

She found the Aurora Project to be particularly valuable as it provides the chance to ‘go out to the community, specifically within Northern Territory, and do some incredible work for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations which are usually under-resourced.’ Kirsti was also part of the Progressive Law Network (or PLN), which she would highly recommend as a chance to meet other people who are like-minded and to enhance the overall university experience.

 

What was your favourite experience at Monash?

 

‘Definitely the Just Leadership Program. I’ve met some amazing people – who equally want to work in social justice - through that program and expect to be friends with them for a long time.’ The program is a series of mini-lectures as well as a group project. Kirsti says that her team worked alongside Amnesty International and researched how young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are being treated in detention and how Australia should be complying with the international standards under the Optional Protocol Against Torture (which thankfully we are now ratifying!).

 

Do you have any advice you wish to share with current students?

 

‘Don’t be afraid of rejection.’  

 

Kirsti remembers the difficulty in finding work in law initially and the anxiety it creates. Having come from a family that immigrated to Australia, she had few contacts to lean on. As a result, she cold-called many organisations and received countless rejection emails starting with the standard ‘unfortunately’. However, she says this only made her stronger in her endeavours and strongly believes that people tend to be drawn to what suits them in the end.

 

‘Rejection is never easy, and I don’t pretend that it doesn’t hurt. However, in saying that, each time a door closed for me, I always felt that it lead me in the right direction. It always reminds me of high school and how I did not do well enough in math to study psychology. I chose to study legal studies as a result and learnt about Legal Aid. Without that, I would never have found my path’.