The Snedden Hall & Gallop University Scholarship turns 21 this year! Since we first awarded the scholarships in 1999, we’ve helped almost 40 aspiring lawyers by providing financial assistance during the first three years of their university studies. Many scholarship winners have also been able to join our team, even if only for a short time.
To commemorate this significant birthday, we’re going through the archives to give you an update on where some of those young stars are now.
In this profile we find out more about Lauren Hodes, who won the scholarship in 2002.

Lauren Hodes

Where is she now?

Lauren is Senior Policy and Projects Manager, Victoria Legal Aid in Melbourne.

How did she get there?

After graduating from Narrabundah College in 2002, Lauren studied a Bachelor of Asian Studies (Specialist) and Law at the Australian National University. While studying, Lauren completed legal internships with the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council in Alice Springs and the National Association of Community Legal Centres in Canberra. Lauren was also a facilitator for the United Nations Youth Association (UNYA) and took up roles in federal government departments in Canberra – as a Legal Policy Officer at Treasury and a Legal Research Officer at the Attorney-General’s Department.
Since completing her degree, Lauren has worked in other parts of Australia and overseas, including with the Department of Justice in Victoria and the Green Climate Fund in the Republic of Korea. Since 2015 Lauren has held various roles at Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), including working as a duty lawyer in rural and regional Victoria and as a human rights and discrimination lawyer in VLA’s specialist Equality Law Program. Lauren has also taken up policy roles at VLA, including Acting Chief of Staff, Senior Policy and Executive Officer and, currently, she is on maternity leave from her position as the Senior Policy and Projects Manager in the office of the Chief Executive Officer. Whilst on maternity leave Lauren has completed a Masters of Public and International Law at the University of Melbourne.

What does Lauren say about the scholarship?

‘The Snedden Hall & Gallop legal scholarship enabled me to broaden my undergraduate experience by taking up internships and pursuing extra-curricular activities with UNYA and overseas’.

Want to know more?

To find out more about our scholarship program, please visit our website or contact Kirsten Cameron on 02 6285 8070 or by email.
You can read other scholarship winners here.