FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPATING STUDENTS

The KALA Clerkship Mentoring Program was an important initiative that connected me to a great mentor who has been through this Clerkship process. It was extremely valuable to be able to hear from my mentor’s experience, and receive personalised guidance and feedback on my own applications. I particularly appreciated how candid and personable my mentor was throughout the Program, balancing constructive feedback with humour and unique insights that I otherwise would not have gained. But this Program was also special due to its emphasis on mentoring young Korean-Australians through what is known to be an extremely competitive process. The importance placed by my mentor on increasing diversity and Korean representation in the legal profession was personally very encouraging. I would highly recommend this Program to any student applying for a Clerkship next year.

Kelly Choo, University of Sydney

The KALA Clerkship Mentoring Program was really helpful in providing guidance as to how to go about the tough and rigorous clerkship process. I personally found this period to be quite daunting, but with this program providing useful insight on how to write a cover letter as well as how to conduct yourself in an interview, I felt more at ease. In particular, I really enjoyed how this program encouraged students to ask any questions that they might have (even if they were minor questions). It was especially helpful to speak to mentors such as Una Kim who was able to tell us about her experiences when she was doing clerkships and provide realistic advice on how she overcame some major challenges during this period.

Justin Song, UNSW

As a penultimate law student with little connections in the legal industry, I was initially struggling with the clerkship application process. However, through the KALA Clerkship Mentoring Program I was able to speak with multiple lawyers from the firms and practice groups that I was interested in, and gain their support and advice. I greatly appreciated that KALA asked us about our preferred areas of practice, so that we were matched with mentors who had experience in those areas. The mentors at KALA were extremely helpful and often went above and beyond to not just deliver seminars but to answer our questions to the best of their abilities. Also, they continually asked for feedback from the mentees to tailor the seminars to what the group needed most at the time. I would highly recommend this program to any penultimate law student - no matter how prepared you feel, you will definitely get something out of it.

Chris Song, University of Sydney

I really enjoyed participating in the Mentoring Program - it definitely opened my eyes to the field of law by speaking to lawyers in various fields.  In particular, I really enjoyed learning about your personal experience of pursuing a career in law, it has allowed me to develop a thorough understanding of what it means to be a corporate lawyer.  Thank you for your help and support throughout the program - your advice was truly inspirational and helpful. 

Daniel Kim, UNSW

I found the mentoring program really helpful! I think the best part of the program was where each of us could practice interview questions.  Thanks for your time and effort into this program!

Inho Son, University of Sydney

The KALA clerkship mentoring program was really helpful in providing practical guidance for both the written application and interview stages. I think the most valuable aspect was hearing the range of Korean-Australian lawyers working in different practice areas and at different firms - this gave us really useful insights which we wouldn’t otherwise be able to access. I loved the supportive and encouraging environment you fostered in each session, and it was lovely to connect with other Law students going through the same process.  For feedback for the future, maybe you could host the interview skills session after the written application deadline, nearer to the actual interviews ie in late July or early August? This is just a minor suggestion - I guess it depends on people’s availabilities of course.

Nicole Sung, UNSW

I really enjoyed the mentoring program and would say that the mentoring program is quite well-organised. The speakers during a series of the program were sincere and gave many useful tips for the students' future career.  As one suggestion for the program, I would like to request you that it would be better if a student/some students can be matched with one or more lawyers as a mentor for some period. It could be a more direct mentoring program for students and gives opportunities to make connections, even if it would be a burden to lawyers, on the one hand.

James Ahn, UNSW

Thank you for your all endeavours for organising the program and supporting for the students. I attended one event from the mentoring program, it was interesting to hear each persons insights. Did not have any negative feedback, but since I missed the initial sign up for the program it was nice to have the separate post about the careers forum on the Kala fb page which gave me the opportunity to join. Thanks for organising such a great event.

Ann Kwak, UNSW

I found the KALA Mentoring Program much more helpful than other mentoring programs because you shared your personal experience using your own CV and cover letter as examples. I also found it very helpful when you helped me brainstorm for the application questions. One feature that differentiated this program from other mentoring programs was that it was such a friendly atmosphere where we were invited to ask any questions without having to worry about getting judged. Especially given that everything was conducted via video conferencing softwares in the current situation, students often find it daunting to ask questions in a group call. But I didn’t feel that way this time because of the small number of mentees and your friendly, approachable personality.   

Stella Lee, University of Sydney

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for our mentoring program for students?

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