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Lawyers and law students need creative outlets, says Miss Universe Australia
Law graduate Priya Serrao, who was recently crowned Miss Universe Australia, said it is important for those in law to engage in activities that offer balance against the “dry and technical” aspects of study and practice and speak to their passions.
Jerome Doraisamy
Ms Serrao (pictured), who completed her Juris Doctor at Melbourne Law School and is soon to be admitted as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of Victoria, told Lawyers Weekly of the importance of pursuing one’s passions whilst studying and practising law.
“Creative outlets are there for law students that are stuck in the library for lots of hours per day, doing something relatively dry and technical. I absolutely think that creative outlets are necessary, at least for someone like me. I’m quite extroverted… I love performances, watching, but also being part of them. So, I’ve always needed some form or kind of creative side project during my tertiary study,” she said.
One such outlet that Ms Serrao plans to explore, in the wake of her win, is delivering workshops in schools about stereotyping, diversity and cultural appropriation.
“That is one of the things that I want to try to deliver over the next few months… I’m currently working on partnerships and contacting different schools in the hope of getting those running. These are kind of issues that I’m quite passionate about, and probably due to personal experience as well,” she explained, referencing her background as a migrant who moved to Australia from India when she was 11 years old.
“I think the reason I’m thinking of going to schools is because, I think, young people, when they learn about these issues at a young age, they’re more willing to empathise and they’re more willing to apply it going forward. I’ve always wanted to do this even before [the Miss Universe Australia competition] happened. Those are the kind of issues I’m interested in.”
Engagement with creative outlets while studying or working in law does require planning, Ms Serrao noted, to ensure that one can juggle their duties and whatever extracurricular activities they partake in.
“I tend to be quite organised… I’m a bit of a planner, so I did end up juggling everything quite well [for the Miss Universe Australia competition]. I wake up relatively early and head to the gym and then go to work. And then the month leading up to the national finals, I was going to work at twice a day and then going back home. And yeah, it was tiring, but when I set a goal, I try to want to meet it,” she recounted.
“But my weekends are just for relaxing, sleeping. And sometimes, I have some quiet time just to myself, do some reading, do some really passive-like activities that aren’t exhausting because I’m just ‘go, go, go’ during the weekdays.”
With regard to the oft-busy schedules that law students and lawyers have, Ms Serrao said self-awareness of one’s physical and emotional state is fundamental, as she has discovered such awareness is “the best way” to identify when you are “getting more and more anxious, more and more tense”.
“I do try to remain as kind of self-aware as possible, and it helps to have family around and also friends that know you quite well. They can tell when you are feeling a certain way. So, it’s a bit of a check.”
And when asked to reflect on the fact that a law graduate won the Miss Universe Australia competition, Ms Serrao said it was “incredible” that the winner has come from the nation’s legal community.
“I think in the past a lot of the winners have been full-time models, or they model part-time at least, and the fact that I’ve got a tertiary degree, and now a law degree, means that I can navigate the next year with some really valuable skills,” she concluded.
Photo: Instagram
To listen to Jerome's full conversation with Priya Serrao, click below:
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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