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A law student at The University of Western Australia who has tackled human rights in Cambodia and native title in the Western Desert is the 2008 winner of the Ciara Glennon Memorial Law Scholarship.

Zoey Irvin, described as having zest and vivacity as well as the determination to help people, impressed the selection panel with her record of voluntary work and her interest and commitment to Indigenous affairs.

"Zoey is a fine student actively involved in campus life.  Yet she has devoted time and energy to supporting human rights and pursuing opportunities for those less able to do so.  She is a thoroughly deserving recipient of the scholarship," UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson said.

The scholarship is sponsored by Blake Dawson, the law firm where Ms Glennon worked, and is awarded annually to a full-time UWA Law School student who needs financial help to continue studying, who makes a recognisable contribution to the community, who demonstrates an active interest in an area outside the practice of law and who shows a balanced approach to life coupled with concern for others.

WA Attorney General Mr Jim McGinty presented Ms Irvin with the scholarship today.

"Each year that I have had the honour of presenting this scholarship I have been enormously impressed by the quality of the recipients," Mr McGinty said.  "Zoey clearly deserves to join the impressive group of intelligent, driven, community-minded young people who have received this scholarship, which remembers the life of Ciara Glennon."

President of the Progressive Law Students' Association, Ms Irvin was a volunteer intern at the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights and has travelled to Port Hedland to collect evidence for an ‘on-country' hearing of the Ngaanyatjarra Council Native Title Unit.  She has volunteered at the Equal Opportunity Commission and worked for the Employment Law Centre, and is now working as a legal research assistant at the Department of Environment and Conservation.

Ms Irvin, the eldest of five children, is also interested in WA history and enjoys surfing and competing in triathlons.  "While I understand that most people have to work and earn money, the Ciara Glennon Memorial Law Scholarship will reduce the amount of part-time work I have to do to cover my general living expenses and enable me to continue working as a volunteer," Ms Irvin said.

Media references

Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs) (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716