So Jess, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m a third year student at USyd studying arts and law. I’m currently President of Hepatitis B Free USyd which I started to help support the charity Hepatitis B Free. I’m also involved with thee Aboriginal legal services in Redfern. As part of that I help right bail applications, help solicitors in court and generally do odd jobs.

How did you get involved with the Aboriginal Legal Services?

I was looking for some legal experience to complement my studies of law, as wanted to see what the practice of law looked like in reality and how the principles I was learning in the classroom applied outside. I also wanted to contribute to the community and apply my skills to help other people.

Aboriginal Legal Services website: http://www.alsnswact.org.au

What kind of things have you learnt there?

I’ve learnt a lot about how the criminal justice system works. I’ve been able to look at the bail process, particularly the recent changes to bail laws…I’ve learnt more about the Aboriginal community and the incarceration of Indigenous youth, which is a serious problem at the moment. It’s been very moving to meet some of the clients; they’re not just criminals…but real people, often from very difficult and disadvantaged backgrounds. [It’s] been a really valuable experience.

You’re very involved with social justice and applying what you learn in a humanitarian way. What interests you about human rights and humanitarian law?

The potential to help people in a very real and tangible way, to uphold their fundamental rights as human beings – I think these are very important goals for any society. The law in particular can be a very effective tool for protecting rights…and I’d like to be a part of that, it’s very worthwhile.

Can you tell us about your experiences with Amnesty International?

I was involved with Amnesty at my university during first and second years. In first year I was the campus coordinator, in second year I was the president. As a university society we ran weekly talks about human rights, we talked about North Korea, Ukraine, LGTBI human rights in Russia… we were educating people and getting them interested as much as we could about human rights issues around the world. We held an art exhibition at the Verge gallery at USYD … raising awareness about asylum seekers in Australia. We also organised an art installation to get people to campaign for children in detention, and we worked with numerous channels and NGOs…

This year I’ve also been involved with Amnesty International (AI) at the NSW centre (outside the university) - the state headquarters for AI. I help to write articles about different campaigns [such as] LGBTI human rights… recently we had the Mayor of Sydney and other LGTBI campaigners to speak to the general public about the issues, in particular the laws and how they need to be harmonised to promote gender equality. We also had a campaign about Indigenous Australians, the need for constitutional recognition and issues of incarceration.

It sounds like a lot of what you do is raising awareness about areas of disadvantage and inequality in our society - it’s really important we need to hear about things. What are some challenges you’ve experienced being involved with Amnesty International and the Aboriginal legal services?

With volunteering in the university society I was in leadership roles and needed a lot of teamwork. It’s very important to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to contribute to allow the event to run smoothly as possible. Sometimes it’s hard to run events, especially when people are very busy with other aspects of their lives…that’s the main challenge I faced, inspiring people to contribute and encourage them to participate even when other things come at.

At the Aboriginal legal services the main challenge has been dealing with the emotional toll of helping clients who have been through a lot of trauma…things that you’d never imagine should happen to anyone, and representing those people. It’s quite emotional.

How do you cope with these confronting things?

Always trying to see the optimistic, positive side of things…and [knowing that] as part of the legal representation we’ll be doing our best to help them represent them.

In what ways have you seen the lives of the people you’ve met impacted by the Aboriginal legal services?

I definitely think that the Aboriginal Legal Services provides vital services to the Aboriginal community and to the legal system. Legal representation makes so much of a difference when  people are fighting for their case in the criminal justice system…there are issues of literacy and understanding the legal system is very complex, it is hard for a non-lawyer to understand what is going on with all the procedures. It’s really helpful when a solicitor is able to take up a case and present it in a convincing to the lawyer, argue for that person’s rights in terms of that person’s background and other factors.

In medical terms we talk about treatment versus prevention. I guess I consider such legal services as something that happens after crime or adversity has taken place in people’s lives. Are there interventions you’ve come across that try to prevent them from happening in the first place?

I definitely see what you mean about the legal system coming in after the event, which is unfortunately. I think the legal system, although very flawed in some aspects, tries to prevent re-offending. For example, in some conditions of bail there is participation in drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, participating in other programs that aim to educate and consult the offender to avoid re-offending and build a better life for themselves. Unfortunately I haven’t been involved much in the stage of preventing these things, but I think we need to research the root causes of why these things happen and have targeted interventions, together with consultation, to prevent them becoming such huge problems.

Why do you think that young people should be involved in volunteering and what skills or attributes do you think put us in a good position to help others?

A lot of people my age are interested in volunteering because we want to give back to the community; we want to be involved in things outside uni. I think that’s what volunteering offers – to move outside the bubble of study and work to actually look at how you can help other people. That can take place in so many ways – conservation, social justice, cultural events…these things expand your view of life and allow you to become more conscious of other people and what they’re experiencing. That’s what happened to me from Amnesty and Aboriginal legal services, I’ve been exposed to so many different issues and met people I wouldn’t normally meet, and that’s really widened my understanding of life. I think that’s really important, particularly when you’re young, to keep an open mind and explore different things.

What motivates you to be involved with Hepatitis B Free?

I guess a general interest in the wellbeing of people. I’m know that I’m not studying anything related to medicine, but when I met you and your mum I was so inspired by how passionate you were about it, and I really wanted to help what you were doing. I think it’s so important, hepatitis B is such an overlooked issue considering its scale and the fact that there is an effective vaccine available means that as a university we can raise awareness and funds to help prevent and limit the scale of hepatitis B.

How can people get involved with Hep B Free USyd?

We have a Facebook group (www.facebook.com/groups/usydhepbfree) and an email mailout with details about upcoming events. Search for HBF Usyd on Facebook, get in touch at one of our events, look us up on the USyd societies page, we can add you to the contact lists so you can get involved.

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hepatitisbfreeusyd

Club Description: www.usu.edu.au/Clubs-Societies/Our-clubs-societies/Humanitarian-Community-Aid/Hepatitis-B-Free-Society.aspx

You’re very busy with juggling many different experiences, how do you balance the demands of Law and Arts school with various other activities?

I always try to figure out what’s essential and I need to prioritise, as I can’t do everything at the same time, I can’t focus a lot on my assignment the same time I have other events. Knowing how your own schedule works, how much time you need for yourself, knowing when to say no to certain events, knowing how much commitment to take on and how involved you want to become, having those boundaries rally helps. Having a set time to filter your messages and social media demands can be useful, I find that I can get bogged down asking people to do various things and that can take time. Always having time for yourself and setting boundaries around everything else, is what I find helps.

And what do you like to do to relax and distress?

I like reading, I like talking to my family and spending time with friends, I really like running and exercise and sport. I also play the viola in a string quartet (www.stringularity.com), that’s a lot of fun. All these things help me to keep perspective and stay balanced.

Thanks heaps Jess! We look forward to hearing your string quartet play at the Charity Ball!

Yes! I can’t wait to play as well!