Music and law may seem like an unusual duet of degrees but for recent Bond University graduate Jordon He, it strikes the right chord.
At age 5, the captivating melodies of his first violin recital ignited a passion within, inspiring Mr He to become a skilled musician and composer.
His love for music propelled him to pursue his first degree, a Bachelor of Music in Performance, majoring in violin performance.
Towards the end of this degree, by chance, Jordon picked up some work experience in a law firm.
His sister worked in the industry and he thought perhaps law could be a backup plan if needed.
“I really liked the fast-paced environment and found a passion in the intellectual challenge of it all, so decided I would go back to university,” Mr He said.
Growing up on the Gold Coast, Mr He had always dreamed of attending Bond University, and this was his chance, being accepted into the Juris Doctor program in September of 2021.
And it was a great fit.
One of Mr He’s biggest takeaways from his time at Bond was meeting many likeminded people who he can now call great friends.
“I think one of the great appeals for the Juris Doctor degree that I’ve later come to appreciate is that (Bond) is truly a unique place where people from all over the world, especially from North America, come to study,” he said.
“You don’t get that at many other places.
“I have had the great pleasure of meeting many people, especially from all over Canada. I would love to visit some of my friends in Canada one day.”
The Juris Doctor program also gave him the opportunity to volunteer his time at local legal centres and in return gain invaluable experience.
“I’ve always seen law as an avenue for people to give more assistance to the community and it has been something I am quite interested in,” he said.
Towards the end of his degree, Mr He secured a role as a paralegal at Ashurst in Brisbane and is looking forward to taking on a graduate role there later this month before he moves into the sector of law he finds most interesting.
“I would like to do something in the dispute sector - litigation, arbitration, anything to do with resolving disputes,” he said.
“I think life is most interesting when there’s some adversarial things going on.”
Despite soon beginning full time work, Jordon plans on persisting with his music composing, teaching on the weekends, and performing in local orchestras, just as he did throughout his degree.
The joy and fulfilment his music commitments bring him means he will always strive to allow his two passions to harmoniously co-exist.
“I think it is important to have both music and law in my life in the future as a good balance as law can be a stressful career.”