Law Graduate Awarded Emma Smith Scholarship

BY: .

Master of Laws student Ms Priyanka Naidoo has been awarded the Emma Smith Overseas Scholarship which she will use to pursue a master’s degree at either Harvard University in the United States or at the University of Cambridge in England.

‘I am currently reading for a Master’s in International Criminal Law and hope to pursue my second master’s at Harvard or Cambridge because they both offer flexible LLM degrees,’ said Naidoo. ‘I would like to use a combination of various courses to study criminal justice from a constitutional perspective, particularly focusing on the role of the victim in the trial process.’

Naidoo’s other achievements include winning the the 2015 Ellie Newman Moot Competition and receiving 18 Certificates of Merit for being in the top three of the best performing students in various modules throughout her LLB degree before graduating summa cum laude in April.

For someone who was torn between studying study Law or Engineering, choosing to go the legal route is proving to be one of the best ever career choices for her!

‘I initially had no great desire to pursue Law,’ said Naidoo. ‘It was only in my second year of study that the passion for Law fully gripped me. What I enjoyed most about it was that there were always two sets of opposing arguments that could be made before a court – sometimes both competing for persuasiveness and reasonableness. Persuading the court to find in your client’s favour can be an intellectually challenging process of which I really want to be a part,’ she said.

Thandiwe Jumo