10X your legal studies by becoming a student volunteer with Monash Law
How true is the old maxim that ‘it’s better to give than to receive’? If you ask a volunteer, you’ll probably find that the major benefactor is always the one doing the giving.
At Monash University, students have a variety of opportunities to volunteer.
But there’s one additional volunteering opportunity that’s only open to Monash Law students.
The Monash Law Students’ Society (LSS) is one of the largest student-run organisations in Australia. In addition to organising social events, the LSS provides advice, tutoring, mentoring and a variety of other other services to help you maximise your legal studies at Monash Law.
So, let’s meet a couple of Monash Law students who have 10X’d their legal studies by becoming a student volunteer with the LSS.
Sarah Tok is an international student in her third year of a double degree, studying a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and a Bachelor of Commerce.
“I think the whole idea of being in Uni is that you're always creating yourself so who you are in your first year, and who you are in your fifth year, is quite different, because your priorities change,” suggests Sarah.
“As of now, upon graduation, I hope to work in Australia as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer, because I think it is the correct blend between my degrees.”
Sarah’s first volunteering experience at Monash University was about meeting new people and eating fun food. She joined the Law Students Society (LSS) committee in her first year and helped out at their fortnightly barbecue.
“I think it’s a good initiative because it shows - yeah, you're busy, but we're there to support you. And now who doesn't like free food?” asks Sarah.
Plucked from the long queue for free food, Sarah soon found herself cooking the barbeque, serving the food and meeting new people outside of her classes. By second year she was volunteering as the International Student Officer for the LSS with a goal of improving the lives of the international student community.
2023 Student Volunteer Award winners with Sarah Tok bottom left.
“For the past few years, because of like Covid, we didn't really have opportunities for people to bond. And you know, one year can really change a lot and set the tone for a lot of things,”
“So that year, with LSS and Law Faculty, I think we did a lot of amazing things,” such as group outings to the movies and a day trip to Phillip Island to see Australian wildlife and the famous Fairy Penguins. Sarah played a key role in organising these events, then coordinated student movements on the day to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience.
“That was my goal. I wanted to create a sense of community for them.”
Now in her third year, Sarah is still volunteering and has taken on a new LSS role that requires more leadership and more interaction with external stakeholders.
“I’m Careers Director now. I work with a team of career officers, and I work very closely with sponsorship officers. We work together with law firms and nonprofit organisations across Australia to help students find out more about their career in law,” explains Sarah.
“So I plan ‘meet the firm’ sessions and other events for students to consider, what routes they can potentially go into after law school.”
While Sarah’s volunteer work helps other students, it’s also giving her an opportunity to challenge herself by doing public speaking, marketing through social media and managing time by studying in smarter ways.
“On my very first day of law school, one of my seniors actually told me that your experience is what you make it out to be. It's as simple as that. And that one line - wow! It changed how my past 2 years of uni went.”
“You're a young adult, you choose to pave the way you want to live your life. And I'm here right now, just trying to do a bunch of things and figuring out what I really like and who I am as a person along the way," reflects Sarah.
“Volunteering does take up time, but it's always so rewarding, I don't do it feeling like it's a chore.”
Oliver Scholast presented with 2023 Student Volunteer Award.
Our second student volunteer who confirms that volunteering is never a chore is Oliver Scholast, a domestic student in the final year of his Juris Doctor (JD). He’s already working in a law firm and looking forward to starting a clerkship later in the year.
“I came into the degree being like, I'm gonna become a criminal lawyer. And then slowly, I started moving towards commercial law - specifically employment law has always been interesting to me,” shares Oliver.
“The place I'm working at does a lot of matters relating to employment law and we just came out of a big trial about employment law. So it's been so interesting to learn a practical application, for the stuff that we've been learning.”
Like Sarah, Oliver began his volunteering at Monash University with the LSS.
“My first position was Director of Social Justice and Equity. That was a really good way for me to understand really how my degree worked, but also to meet a lot of people,” confirms Oliver.
Because the LSS is open to Law students at every stage of their law studies, volunteers don’t just meet a lot of people, but they meet law students of all ages and at all stages.
“I got to meet some older students, some younger students and some LLB students, so it was a good way to meet all these people.”
Unable to quench his thirst for meeting new people, Oliver also volunteered for Orientation Day panels which tested his skills in public speaking as he shared his JD experience with new students.
“It's comforting to know that you can help someone, especially with new students. I know I was stressed going in, thinking I don't know what this is like, I've heard it’s lots of hard work. So I think it’s comforting to hear, ‘okay, this is actually how it is’,” suggests Oliver.
“I think I probably helped a couple of people on the way, which is nice.”
Oliver has found that volunteering is not only enjoyable, but it helps with his understanding of what he’s learning in his legal studies as well. His approach to volunteering is more organic than Sarah’s - rather than seeking out particular volunteer opportunities, he keeps his eyes and ears open for opportunities that are coming his way.
“I was lucky that I started with the LSS. That got me a couple of opportunities with the Law Faculty, and from there I've got a couple of other opportunities. So, I think it's just been a constant thing of being fortunate enough to get these opportunities and then just doing them - and it's been really enjoyable.”
Oliver has recently completed his second position with LSS as Director of Careers - the role that Sarah has just started. He’s now onto his third position with LSS as Graduate Director.
Morag Milne announces Law Faculty’s 2023 recipients of the Monash University Student Volunteer Awards.
In 2023 both Oliver and Sarah were recognised for their volunteer work as the Law Faculty’s recipients of the Monash University Student Volunteer Awards.
“It's really surprising. I didn't expect it at all. I was just told ‘you should really come to this event’. I was just really surprised by it, because I didn't really think I did anything that deserved it to be honest. And so I felt very fortunate.”
To 10X your legal studies by becoming a student volunteer with Monash Law, contact the Monash Law Students Society (LSS) or keep an eye out for opportunities on the LSS Facebook Page.
For postgrad students, there's also the LSS Postgraduate Law Students Society Facebook Page.