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Student-led organisations start with being ‘super passionate’, founder says
For GreenLaw founder Annika Reynolds, it was her passion for climate justice that turned the youth-led organisation into something much bigger than she had ever envisioned. For other law students and new graduates thinking about launching their own organisation, she strongly advises letting their passion lead them too.
Naomi Neilson
A year and a half on from launching GreenLaw, the young person-led organisation has made major strides in environmental law and climate justice, from an ecological wellbeing and Indigenous justice program through to a guide for protesting in the ACT. Its founder Annika Reynolds said it all started by finding her passion.
Her advice for other students considering launching their own organisation – other than joining GreenLaw – is to first consider where they are in their career or their studies. Ms Reynolds started GreenLaw when she was in her third year and also recommended to others to give themselves a chance to first “learn and grow”.
“I think really the GreenLaw journey has been incredible, but it’s also been very tough. My partner seems to semi-consistently see me very late at night at my desk clicking away, doing things from editing documents to coming up with new briefs, to screaming because the website images aren’t working,” Ms Reynolds said.
“The life of a founder and the person in charge is not always super glamorous, but the passion is what sustains me and the deep held values that I bring to GreenLaw. I spent my first two years of university doing all manner of random voluntary things, finding what my passion was, and what I could bring to that space.”
Ms Reynolds said that once young lawyers find their passion and they have settled on it “and you can feel it in your bones, that it’s the space you love, are enthused by, interested in and can sustain that interest for 10 years”, then commit wholeheartedly.
“Whether that’s a project that you can start where you see a gap, or whether it’s joining someone else who’s already building something up, don’t be afraid to be super passionate about what you care about,” Ms Reynolds said.
“Commit to that, enjoy it, see where it takes you.”
For more on what GreenLaw has achieved over the last 18 months, have a listen to the episode here or read about the ACT protesting guide here.
If you have any questions about the episode or if there are any topics that you might want us to look into, please reach out – we would love to hear from you!
We’re also always open to new guests so if you have an exciting story to tell, if you’re standing out as a student or graduate, or if you can offer some tips for our young lawyers, get in touch.
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Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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