Keanu Pickering Filipo

The University of Auckland was always my top choice for my studies, not only did my brother attend the university and love it, but in my final years of high school I was fortunate enough to be a part of transitioning programmes provided by UoA to help high school students move into University.

Auckland Law School has an extensive range of Law electives available to students. I find it valuable to have such freedom of choice in the field of law electives, from a South Pacific Legal Studies elective all the way to a practical Community Law Internship elective. It’s an excellent feeler to see what you do, don’t, or even what you could be interested in.

Throughout my time at the Law School, I’ve been involved in the Pacific Islands Law Students Association (PILSA). Having been around since 1993, built on the three pillars of Faith, Education, and Culture, I, like many other Pacific Islands law students in PILSA, stand on the shoulders of those who’ve come before us. I love to think of PILSA as my home away from home, and in my course of involvement with PILSA, I’ve been especially privileged enough this year in 2023 to serve on the executive team as the Professional Development Officer where I’ve been so very fortunate to open our members to networking with firms, different legal entities, and crafting their legal persona.

The thing I enjoy most about my studies is being surrounded by like-minded people such as myself, especially within the Pacific community here, who indulge in the law for more or less the same reason – to serve our people our villages.

My advice for those thinking about making a move to study here at the University of Auckland would simply be to go for it! You never know what awaits you until you dive headfirst and take that leap. You’re bound to find your people, and that makes the journey worth it.