Written by Bachelor of Laws student Hannah Hill.
Ever wondered what it’s like to juggle an accelerated university degree, a social life, and an exciting internship at an environmental consultancy firm? Bachelor of Laws student Hannah Hill, who’s majoring in climate law, shows us a snippet of a day in her life.
6-7am: Work out at the Sports Centre
I typically wake up around 6am and head straight to the Bond Sports Centre to start my day. Living on campus at Bond University has given me easy access to a variety of fitness equipment at the gym, so I strive to make the most out of it!
After my morning workout, I walk to Lakeside, our on-campus café and restaurant, and order some breakfast and a freshly squeezed juice (watermelon + pineapple + ginger + lemon = the best juice ever). I make a conscious effort to sit outside while I eat, and make it a tech free zone with no interruptions – just my breakfast and a view of beautiful Lake Orr!
9am: Begin day at GG Enviro
After returning to my room and getting ready, I pick up a fellow intern on the way to the GG Enviro office in Currumbin, and our day of work begins! The first thing we do every morning when we get to the office is have a quick meeting and debrief about our projects with the company’s director, Larissa Rose, accompanied by a cup of coffee. Larissa helps me to map out my day, and eagerly listens to my project debrief and gives me constructive feedback that I apply throughout the rest of the day.
9:30am-1pm: Time to get to work!
Next, I’ll continue working on my projects. Depending on the task that I’m completing at the time, I might be researching information, collating my ideas, or formulating them into enjoyable and informative pieces to be used across a variety of mediums for GG Enviro. I often read journal and news articles from different internet sources to gain a deeper understanding of what I am researching.
The GG Enviro office is a colourful, creative, and collaborative space, filled with flowers, plants and interactive tools like whiteboards that encourage me to step outside the box and be innovative with my ideas.
I’ll also spend some of my morning going through my projects with my fellow intern, Samantha – I love working with another intern, as we’re always helping each other out, and pushing one other to produce high quality work.
1pm: Lunch time
During my time at GG Enviro, I’ve grown really close with Samantha, my fellow intern – so on lunch breaks, we tend to head outside to Currumbin Creek and sit somewhere nice and shady, opposite the water. Afterwards, we might go on a brisk walk along the beach! We love to take our shoes off and feel the sand between our toes, which is such an amazing feeling after sitting at a desk. When we’re thoroughly tired out from our walk, we’ll often sit somewhere for the remainder of our break and observe the wildlife. There’s never a dull moment here on the beautiful Gold Coast!
2-5pm: Afternoon work session
After a refreshing lunch break, I spend 10 to 15 minutes going through my LinkedIn feed. This is a valuable and very important career lesson that Larissa has taught me, and I try to do this every day. I read articles and posts, and share things that are valuable in an effort to build my network and become more informed.
Then, I’ll typically finish up my research projects, ensuring that I have reached the goals and expectations that Larissa has set out for me in our morning meeting.
5pm: Finish up for the day
At 5pm, I pack up my things and head back to Bond. I’ll then have some dinner at Lakeside before heading to the MLC – the Multimedia Learning Centre, one of our awesome on-campus library spaces, to do some study. After I’m finished study, I’ll head back to my room, and that’s my day done!
What about on weekends?
Where a typical weekday for me involves lots of work and study, on the weekend, I try to enjoy my rest as much as I can! I’ll typically take a break from the gym, and sleep in if I don’t get called into work. I enjoy filling my Saturdays and Sundays with trips to the beach, nice restaurants, and sometimes even theme parks. The best thing about studying at Bond and living on campus is how close you are to everything – you can drive practically anywhere on the Gold Coast in under half an hour, so I try my best to make the most of this!
Towards the end of the semester, when due dates are looming, my weekends consist of studying and preparing myself for the week. I can’t stress the importance of planning my week enough, especially because I live on campus. I aim to do all my general housekeeping chores like washing and grocery shopping over the weekend so that I’m free during the week, and only have to worry about my studies. But, assignments and exams come and go so fast – before you know it, holidays are here and it’s back to relaxing!
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