Written by Conor Courtney LLM in International Commercial Law
Sitting down and trying to reflect on my summer was more challenging than I expected. Although I have made the most of my summer, and really enjoyed it, it’s hard to look back at all of the cancelled events and missed opportunities. This is a pretty universal feeling, I’m sure, and something that incoming students will also have to internalise. As such, although a lot of these stories might focus more on personal experiences, I wanted to write about some of the projects that I was still able to work on this summer, which helped with the boredom of being stuck inside!
So the main thing that I took away from this summer was really that unexpected plans may not always be perfect alternatives, it really is down to your own determination to try to make the most of each situation.
I think one of my most memorable experiences during lockdown was when I got involved with the new student legal news site Student Bytes. It was so interesting working on a Lawtech publication from the ground up, and getting appointed Senior Editor was, at times, exciting and frightening. I studied an English degree and a law degree in two different universities simultaneously, because they are both my passions, so having the chance to lead my own team of editors and writers was amazing. Stuck at home during lockdown, I got the opportunity to develop articles on topics that I think are important to all law students, and I got to develop a podcast series, and a YouTube series. Being cooped up really gave me an opportunity to focus on creative projects, which is something positive I can take from this summer.
Being stuck in lockdown, another amazing opportunity was to work on projects with people from all over the world, and those just down the road from me. Me and some friends from UCL applied and were accepted to submit a report to the UN, which was a great way to feel as though I was impacting the world, even when I couldn’t experience it. The UN was seeking submissions on ‘Model Provisions for Trade in Times of Crisis and Pandemic in Regional and other Trade Agreements’. Being able to work on the project simultaneously with students from UCL in Goodge St, Leicester, and Peru was an amazing experience, and something which we likely would not have found the time to commit to during a typical summer.
Online projects became pretty commonplace this summer, and my opinion of them really changed as I got to see how fortunate I was to be able to work with students in different regions and on different career paths to me. I took part in a Summer Institute tech programme with the Tech Allies Network, and there again I had a chance to meet an incoming UCL student based in India, who’s working on a project to turn glass bottles into sand! (If you want to check it out here's the link - @sustainableUCL are you taking notes?)
For students who might have a lot of this year in an online format, I want to also talk about how virtual projects not only helped me, but allowed me to help others. I signed up at the start of summer to be a virtual mentor to A level students. Given that this year has been especially difficult for A level students, especially with the uncertainty of their grades, it wasreally enlightening to be able to act as a source of guidance and support for students. This volunteering work also came about through Brightside, a charity I discovered through the UCL SU volunteering directory, so be sure to check out the directory for volunteering opportunities this year, whether you are on campus or online!