Graduate Profile

Bachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Laws, Deakin University, Warrnambool Campus, Geelong Campus, Waurn Ponds and Off Campus. Graduated 2010

Currently:Graduate Lawyer, Maddens Lawyers

It was an easy decision for Kathryn Neale to head to Deakin's Warrnambool campus because it is her home town. But it is a great environment for the mix of students who gather there, no matter where they come from, Kathryn says. 'We had people coming from small country towns and people from Melbourne,' she says. 'We got on really well and socialised all the time, doing things like playing tennis together. Definitely the small environment helps.'

Kathryn completed the Bachelor of Laws in 2010 after taking the first two years of her course in Warrnambool. 'I could stay at home and afford to buy a car instead of having to pay rent,' she says. 'I wasn't 100 per cent sure what I wanted to do and law is a good degree. 'You can do anything business related after it - you don't have to become a lawyer.'

She moved to Waurn Ponds for her third year then, when her lease ran out on her accommodation, headed back to Warrnambool and completed her final year off campus. 'It was a bit hard to break into the law group at Waurn Ponds but we had a group to move up with,' she says. 'It was good to have a bigger campus after the small Warrnambool one and the different events were good.'

A highlight for Kathryn was a study tour to China during her fourth year. The group spent each morning attending classes at a host university, the afternoons sightseeing and the evenings meeting up with fellow students for social events. 'It was a fantastic experience,' she says. 'I got the funding through Deakin to go. It was added to my HECS and a lot of people wouldn't have been able to go without that.'

Studying law 'took a bit of getting used to', Kathryn says. 'Trying to get the hang of what the assignments are about can be hard because it is very different from VCE. The first semester is the hardest, then everybody finds their feet.' In her final year, Kathryn secured a casual position with Madden Lawyers in Warrnambool, then took on a full-time position there as a lawyer at the beginning of 2012. She has been working on a class action for victims of the Black Saturday bushfires. 'It has been a role of discovery and a lot of reading,' she says. 'Basic skills I learned in my course like how to correspond and the processes of the court have been really helpful.'