First published 28 January 2021
Combining their passion for making a difference with their Justice degrees, three QUT students share their experiences that have become the foundation for vastly different career aspirations.
“Studying Justice has given me opportunities to see injustices not only in Australia but also abroad. It has given me the tools to understand those injustices, what needs to be done to help, and what I can do to make a difference.”
Finishing her Bachelor of Justice majoring in Policy and Governance with a second major in Law at the end of 2020 Cassidy Cleary made the most of her degree. The experience, skills and knowledge that she’s gained over the last few years, including a study tour to Cambodia and a project in Cherboug, have shaped her passion for Youth Justice and Indigenous Justice.
In 2018 Cassidy travelled to Cambodia on an International Justice and Law Study tour where her group focused on understanding the complexities and responses to issues such as child abuse and human trafficking.
Last year, Cassidy travelled to Cherboug with other law and justice students to partner with CRAICCHS on two projects that addressed youth mental health and child protection issues within the community. “My team’s project was to identify gaps where the legislation on child protection wasn’t happening how it needed to. We partnered with a representative from CRAICCHS who identified their limitations for how they wanted to be able to address children and youth who needed help, because of certain legislation. Our team composed an evidence-based report focusing on early intervention that identified specific issues and made short and long-term recommendations. That report could then be used as evidence when applying for grants etc.”
“This placement helped me understand a lot more about child protection, youth justice and youth in Aboriginal communities. I was able to understand in a much greater depth not only child protection legislation, but how the legislation applies in practice in Aboriginal communities like Cherbourg.
It enhanced my passion for youth justice because I got to really learn how underlying factors can contribute to youth entering the justice system and I was able to understand how it can affect communities."
She also completed a placement with the YMCA which led to a volunteer position as a Youth Mentor. Recently, Cassidy was able to utilise her experiences to successfully secure a paid position with the YMCA as a Youth Worker.
What makes Cassidy so passionate about her role as a Youth Worker?
“Empowering young people is so important because they have their whole lives in-front of them and many that end up in the youth justice system don’t have any positive role models in their lives. Helping youth through tough times in their life before they might enter into the justice system can ultimately end up changing the whole direction of their life.
The opportunities are super-varied in the justice degree. At the moment I’m at a crossroads between the more criminological path in QPS – pursuing a detective role vs continuing with my role as a youth worker which is a more social justice path. They are very different points in the justice system but both are so important for social justice.”
After completing an internship within the Fraud Integrity Department of Suncorp, Brayden was offered full-time employment and is now completing his final semester of a Bachelor of Justice part-time.
During the internship, Brayden shadowed staff, gaining a greater understanding of how insurance claims are identified as fraudulent, investigated, allowed and either released or rejected. The shadowing experience complimented his main research project for the internship which focused on highlighting emerging trends of insurance fraud.
“Skills and concepts I learned within my Bachelor of Justice have been essential in understanding the insurance fraud landscape. For example, many of my units focused on conceptualising and responding to crime, which I applied during my internship. I was able to highlight the correlation between socio-economic status and insurance fraud and identified ways in which financial risk could be minimised through this conceptualisation of fraud.”
Brayden went on to add, “My justice studies also provided insight into how vulnerable groups in society face many barriers which reduce their opportunities. This understanding of the inequalities vulnerable people face was particularly useful in actioning Suncorp’s ‘heart2heart’ model, which involved identifying if a customer were vulnerable so that they could be treated equally and fairly.”
As a full-time as a Fraud Compliance Officer at Suncorp, Brayden enjoyed his job and his co-workers, “I think your co-workers are so important in determining whether you enjoy a job or not, and it is part of the reason why I sought employment following my internship. Also, being able to complete tasks which directly impact the operation of the business, is quite rewarding as I feel as though I am making a tangible difference.”
After a few months in this position, Brayden was promoted into a new role that requires him to work with highly sensitive information and processes.
Brayden’s advice to other students is, “network within your desired field of work before you graduate. QUT’s internship programs are fantastic for this, and it is what allowed me to eventually gain employment with Suncorp Group. If you get an opportunity to work within your field of study before you graduate, take it. For me, working full time and studying part time is completely doable, and the experience you gain within your desired field of work is invaluable.”
Zoe Keath was the first student to complete an internship with the Queensland Police Service's State Intelligence Group as part of her Justice degree. The main project that she completed was a literature review into firearm theft in Queensland and the potential harms that stolen firearms can pose to the community which fed into a wider suite of research being conducted at the time.
Graduating with a Bachelor of Justice at the end of 2019 and completing her Honours thesis, 'A Step to the (Far) Right: A Discourse Analysis of Far-Right Political Social Media' last year, Zoe has set her sights on a career in Intelligence and says her placement with QPS was an excellent opportunity to see how her university degree applied in the real world.
“It was an incredibly valuable experience and drew directly on the research abilities that I have developed throughout my degree, both from my units and other opportunities such as the Faculty of Law’s Vacation Research Experience Scheme (VRES). The wide variety in the types of assignments that I’ve completed was also helpful as it meant I could assist on a diverse range of projects."
The placement provided Zoe with opportunities to network and gain insights into how she could set herself apart in an application process. “During my placement a new member joined our team who had completed a Bachelor of Justice at QUT a few years before, so he was especially helpful to talk to. My supervisor was equally as helpful and not only included me in many aspects of work life in the State Intelligence Group (from meetings to projects outside my main one) but also gave me incredibly valuable insight into getting into the intelligence field and how to set myself apart.”
For more information about QUT's Bachelor of Justice, see here.