Staying the course with alumni support

When Ava first arrived at Melbourne Law School, she brought with her a drive shaped by rural life, along with a deep uncertainty about whether she belonged.

Raised on a small hobby farm outside Swan Hill, Ava spent her childhood always “on the go” – riding horses, making forts, doing “doughies” in the paddock behind the wheel of a beat-up car.

She’d never imagined herself at Australia’s top law school, let alone in a city like Melbourne. But an encounter with a teacher's daughter in Year 11, who had studied law at the University of Melbourne, inspired the young Ava to do the same.

“From that moment onwards, it was Melbourne University’s JD or nothing,” Ava says.

Her parents threw their support behind her dream, even taking on a second income growing plants for a local nursery to help cover her relocation costs.

But despite her ambitions, the first semester of law school overwhelmed Ava. She found herself juggling part-time work, homesickness, and the creeping feeling that she couldn’t handle the workload in the same way as her peers.

“I was struggling to stay on top of the work and pay rent,” she recalls. “My mental health suffered. I had already been thinking about leaving the degree. I just thought law was something that obviously wasn’t for me.”

That changed when she was awarded the MLS Young Alumni Scholarship, which offers support to JD students in financial need who also have a disability or a long-term illness.

When I got awarded the scholarship I immediately started crying. I felt this huge rush of support.

The scholarship was transformative. It allowed Ava to reach her full academic potential, as she no longer had to worry about making rent and was able to prioritise her health.

“My grades in second semester skyrocketed and I just had so much more confidence in myself,” Ava says. “I honestly don’t know if I would still be doing the degree if I didn’t receive the scholarship.”

The power of peers

The MLS Young Alumni Scholarship was created by a group of recent graduates – Josh Bridgett, Henry Dow, Tim Gracie and Jack Trainor – who knew firsthand the struggles of law school.

“We remember how hard that first year of law school can be,” says Henry, who graduated from the JD program in 2018. “We were conscious of the enormous additional challenge students studying law face while managing a long-term illness and financial pressure.”

They were particularly moved by Tim’s experience with serious illness during his undergraduate degree, and by the difference a scholarship had made in his life.

So, in their final year of law school, they acted.

“It is an absolute credit to all donors to the Young Alumni scholarship to recognise the students who are not being supported and continuing to provide that vital support,” Ava says.

Now, working as a paralegal at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and eyeing a future in intellectual property law, Ava is beginning to carve out a path in the profession she once thought might not be for her.

And while city life has its appeal, her long-term vision lies elsewhere: returning to a rural community, reconnecting with the space and pace she grew up with – and using her legal training to give back.