Evelyn

Learning two languages and interning with a Northern Territory Aboriginal legal aid service have been among the university highlights for Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Law student Evelyn.

“I came to ANU because I grew up in Sydney as an only child and wanted the experience of living with lots of other young people,” she says.

That experience first involved Lena Karmel Uni Lodge, then Burgmann College.

“I loved living on campus because I could get much more involved in uni life,” she says.

“In my first three years I was immersed in it 24/7 such as with inter-college events, including balls, plays and musicals.

“I was also a lifestyle reporter and columnist with Woroni which really developed my writing.”

Evelyn has a knack for languages. Her mother tongue is Greek, followed by English, and she began studying French aged three.

“I’d always planned on learning German at uni, but on enrolment day I clicked Spanish and haven’t looked back,” she recalls.

“This year I’ve done a presentation in Spanish on the Mexican drug trafficker ‘El Chapo’.

“Languages taught here have a global focus. They make you think about the broader cultural context of the language and you don’t stay within one aspect of the language.”

Evelyn in 2017 added Arabic to her quiver, and is currently undertaking the Diploma of Languages in Arabic.

“I don’t want to lose it, and I’ve had an excellent Arabic teacher.”

Evelyn’s also enjoyed the university’s numerous government law subjects such as contemporary issues in administrative law, conflict of laws, and international law.

“With the research element of it, the law school has opened up lots of opportunities for me to do internships interstate,” she says.

“I spent six weeks in Darwin with the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) and worked on policy recommendations for the current Royal Commission into Child Protection and Youth Detention in the Northern Territory.

Evelyn described that internship as the best thing she’s “ever done”, and said that her studies have given her a lot of scope to pursue what she’s interested in.

 “I did another internship off the back of that with the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre in Canberra. I find that one opportunity always lead to another.”

“My interest in Indigenous Australia also conflates a lot of my other interests like cross-cultural communication and linguistic barriers to access to justice.”

“If you can’t communicate with someone on a base level, you’re never really going to be able to help them in the best way possible.”

Evelyn helps people access justice in her part-time role as a case service officer with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Ahead of graduating, she’s already casting her net for various posts within federal departments, and applying for graduate positions.