It might not have been what many would call a conventional path, involving leaving school weeks into her senior studies, but a young woman from Lambton has taken a significant step to realising her dream career of practising law.
Sophie Anna Amanatides was one of almost 70 people who were admitted to the NSW Supreme Court's roll of practitioners in Newcastle on Friday.
The admission of a lawyer to the court enables them to apply to the Law Society of NSW for a practising certificate, the official document which entitles them to practise law.
Ms Amanatides, 22, has spent the past three years as a paralegal at Hicksons Lawyers - where she is now a solicitor.
She told the Newcastle Herald she left school only five weeks into Year 11, but found she thrived in a TAFE environment, where she eventually earned a university entrance mark equivalent to an ATAR of 99.
Ms Amanatides said leaving school for TAFE was the "best decision I ever made".
She wasn't sure at first what she wanted to study at uni, so decided to try Law.
"After my first year I loved it and was so so happy with my decision," she said after Friday's ceremony.
"I love being intellectually stimulated and problem solving - and arguing, if you ask my mum.
"I was scared to leave school despite hating it, and I was met with questions about what I was doing with myself after leaving - met with lots of doubt.
"It shows that you don't have to follow the conventional path to get into uni and I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't chosen to explore the option of TAFE and taken that leap at 16."
Another of the newly admitted lawyers, 23-year-old Maitland woman Luka Gale, said she planned to move to London next month to pursue work.
She said she hoped to focus on immigration and human rights law and took up a legal career to become an advocate for those who could not speak-up for themselves.
"I am motivated to advocate for universal access to the justice system, particularly for victims of human rights abuses, in order to pursue fair and equitable remedies for those who lack the means to advocate for themselves, and to address the systemic issues at the root of these injustices," she said.
Madeleine Howle, 23, moved from Bathurst to study at the University of Newcastle.
She has secured a 12-month position as an Anne Kantor fellow with the Australia Institute and hopes to build a career focused on human rights and environmental law.
Ms Howle is working on The Whistleblower Project, dedicated to protecting and empowering those who speak truth to power.
"I'm really passionate about the connection between human rights and climate, and how that affects individual people and communities on the ground," she told the Herald.
"I think it's important to remember our role as lawyers in being an advocate for our communities and ensuring we hold our legal systems and government to account."
