Law with Spanish Personal Statement

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

Coming from a Hispanic background, alongside an inclination to question everything, is why I wish to study Law with Hispanic Law. My attendance at taster days made me realise that I want to study Law as, unlike most people, I love not knowing the answer. I recognise that you can memorise all the laws in the world but you'll never have a straight answer to any case. The case of Factortame intrigued me because of its challenge in combining two laws, EU Law with English Law. It brought me back to the idea that Law is not black and white, even when one has "all" the evidence. For example here, how do we, with the doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty to bear in mind, decide what's more important; 'discrimination' or maintaining fish quotas? Linking this back to my course, I'm excited to see how English and Hispanic Law tie together and contrast. Certainly, one follows a Common and the latter a Civil legal system, but I can't wait to see the juxtaposition during the third year, as well as integrating myself in the college community through sports and volunteering alongside tackling the academic challenges that I know my course will bring. Aristotle believed that "law is reason free from passion" yet I can't think of a subject I'm more passionate about.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

Within school I attend debating societies, however it's my family's passion for politics which has really made me able to formulate a sound argument in the quickest manner. Similarly, being a School Council member and boarding Prefect, I listen to others' opinions and represent their demands through appropriate means. This is the case for Mathematics, where answers are obscure and problems challenging. Through this it has equipped me for Law. Modules such as optimisation have raised my critical thinking as I've had to look at problems, analyse and evaluate them, to then form a judgement as to how to deal with the question, alongside portraying how I've reached my conclusion. This has certainly given me perseverance. History, above all has prepared me for a Law degree as I've learnt how to retain large amounts of information and pick just the right facts and figures to suit the demand. The interpretation questions have sharpened my powers of reasoning as I have to analyse both sides of the source and logically come up with a conclusion. Likewise, the coursework elements in History and Spanish, which I had to independently research, prepared me for the autonomous studying that will be required for this degree.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

By studying languages, belonging to a bilingual family and watching world news, I've developed a critical awareness that's enabled me to communicate with the people of Latin America and Europe, not just through the language but through their culture, politics and history. My communication skills were enhanced through volunteering at a nursing home and AGE UK where I spent time helping the elderly, and likewise within school in the CCF, through peer mentoring and assisting at the Holocaust Exhibition where I educated younger students. Through my work experience at Glencore, Chile, I received an insight into the Latin American Business world and proved to be a pro-active individual through weeks of 14-hour days to ensure all the work was done to a high standard. Concurrently working for four UK restaurants made me an organised and sedulous individual, likewise proven through my completion of the Silver D of E Award. Combined with playing for first team hockey and netball, these have all made me a committed team player who thrives for a challenge. My interest in law was expanded through speaking to solicitors alongside visiting the Crown Court at Leeds and witnessing a trial at the Supreme Court. Similarly, I studied Law as a super-curricular course which, combined with reading "Understanding Law" by Adams and Brownsword, gave me a useful introduction to law as well as how the English legal system works, whilst Wacks' "Philosophy of Law" familiarised me with its jurisprudence.