Student focus
Sweeney Miller scholarship winner
Luke Gaskill, Sweeney Miller scholarship winner
The Sweeney Miller scholarship is open to the highest performers in Land Law, Contract Law and Equity. The successful candidate received a cash amount and an opportunity of work experience.
When I received an email telling me I had the opportunity to apply for Sweeney Miller I was excited (and honestly quite surprised!). The selection criteria invited the top 15 (mean-average calculated) students across Contract, Land and Equity to apply. What excited me about Sweeney Miller was the conversation I had with two of their paralegals at the Newcastle University jobs fair. They were really helpful in answering my questions, and enthusiastic when talking about the firm. I think this enthusiasm rubbed off on me when I applied to the scholarship, but I didn’t have any expectations other than a ‘what is there to lose?’ attitude.
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I think this attitude helped calm some of my nerves on the actual day of interview. I was nervous, but not overly so. When I entered the room, I was greeted by the managing partner, head of corporate, and Dr Bronwen Jones. There was then a series of 10 questions, like ‘what do you know about Sweeney Miller?’ and ‘what is an area of the law that should be reformed?’. While there were set questions, what went well was how natural everything felt, it wasn’t some mechanical yes or no / right or wrong interview but a conversation.
When I received the email saying I was selected I was ecstatic. What I’m really looking forward to from the scholarship is the two-weeks work experience, which I’ve chosen to split between commercial property at their Newcastle office, and litigation in their brand-new Sunderland office. There’s always an element of luck with these processes, and the other two candidates were exceptional, so on another day I may not have been selected. I’m grateful to Newcastle University and Sweeney Miller for the opportunity, and I’m certain this is one important milestone in a long journey.
