Completing his McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship at Legal Aid WA directly helped University of WA graduate Sam Lowther secure his first job after completing his law degree.
During his 100-hour internship last year, Mr Lowther helped develop resources for Legal Aid WA to help explain the Child Protection legal process to Aboriginal people who may speak English as a second or third language.
The project involved stakeholder consultation, describing complicated legal concepts, and organising publication of early versions of the resources.
Shortly after graduating from UWA with a postgraduate law degree, the 25-year-old accepted a role as Graduate Legal Officer at the Department of Communities.
Mr Lowther said his internship experience had helped “massively” in his personal and professional life.
“Through my placement at Legal Aid, I was involved in many projects and met many people working in the not-for-profit sector,” he shared.
“It exposed me to areas of legal practice that I was unfamiliar with, which subsequently helped me to secure the position I am working in now.
“It also introduced me to lots of fantastic people with a similar perspective to myself, who I am still in contact with today. There are lots of people in Perth who are very passionate about helping society’s most vulnerable people. The greatest lesson I learnt was that, if you are passionate, there will always be opportunities to work in this space. All you have to do is look for them.”
Mr Lowther counted the opportunity to visit more Aboriginal communities to conduct stakeholder engagement among his main highlights of 2019.
“It was a fantastic experience that really brought home some of the challenges people face when living and working in remote areas,” he said.