After high school, I plan to study a Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Human Rights or Bachelor of Arts majoring in Law and Society. I aspire to study postgraduate law, and work in a field that creates policy reform, social justice and advocates for change. I have been to various university open days and tours throughout my high school years. Below is a recap of my post-school projects during my final year, including a meeting with UWA's associate director of admissions, a two-year term in the Y's Youth Parliament and a camp with UN Youth WA.
Reflecting on the ways my priorities and career goals have shifted, and how I reprioritised my passions.
An outline of my plans after high school, as making lists helps me stress less.
University of Western Australia - Meeting with the University's Associate Admissions Director advocating for Big Picture.
07/05/2024
On Tuesday the 7th of May 2024, I visited the UWA campus for a meeting with Associate Director of Admissions, Rick Ackerman. We had arranged to meet after communicating via email about experience-based entry and its compatibility with Big Picture, following our school tour of UWA.
As it turns out, Rick was the one to propose EBE to the university back in 2020, and it was first implemented in 2022 - making this year only it's second in place. I explained how Big Picture assessments and projects are outlined and we discussed how students are assessed, using mine and previous graduate's portfolios as examples. Rick spoke about the ways he hopes to assess Big Picture in comparison to ATAR scores and we bounced ideas.
Whilst we spoke, the university's Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor Tim Colmer happened to walk by and Rick took the opportunity to introduce me.
I am grateful for Rick's enthusiasm and honesty with EBE options for Big Picture students and felt good to have advocated for myself and other passionate, hardworking students. At the end of our meeting, he reminded me that I have his contact if I need a hand with my early entry.
University of Western Australia - school tour 22/04/2024
On Monday the 22nd of April, I arranged a UWA tour for interested senior students. We took the bus and train route to campus and met student ambassador Hannah and her team of students outside the iconic Winthrop Hall.
The team walked us to a lecture theatre where we were given an overview of the university with specified information about experience-based entry, having communicated with Hannah prior to our tour. She answered all our questions with generous detail and wrote down anything to follow up if she was unsure.
Though frustrating to hear how intricate it seems to get in via EBE, Hannah was very helpful in explaining the entry pathway's point system.
After the presentation, three student ambassadors took us for a tour of their favourite spots on campus. We had lunch by Student Central before heading home.
Murdoch University - school tour 19/03/2024
On March 19th, I joined a group of students attending Murdoch University for a school tour. Our guide, Sam, was very enthusiastic and showed us all the best spots on campus. We explored the arts, engineering, and student residence areas, had lunch in Bush Court, attended a criminology workshop, and learned more about Big Picture entry pathways. I'd attended the campus various times in the past for different open days, student days and iScience but this was the first time I'd been inside the new building, which runs on 100% renewable energy. As I'm completing TLC, Murdoch's enabling course, Murdoch University is my second preference for next year & it was uplifting to see how excited everyone was afterward as we make our individual post-school plans.
University of Western Australia - Open Day - 17/03/2024
This was my second year attending UWA's open day event. I visited the campus with my mum and close family friends. We listened to two lectures about scholarships and applications, and undergraduate law before stopping for lunch then exploring two of the residences with student ambassadors.
I absolutely love the campus, and taking the bus and train line that I would be catching to uni was exciting. I made notes about all the scholarships and application processes, especially experience-based entry into an arts degree. It was frustrating to find out that there aren't many scholarship options for experience-based students.
Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the open day and felt excited at the prospect of returning to campus as a student!
Early exploration of potential career paths