UNA PRENTICE AWARDS | Every year, WLAQ recognises the achievements of the highest achieving, graduating female law student from each law school (of the graduating class from the prior year) in Queensland, thanks to the generous bequest of Ms Una Prentice and through the establishment of the Una Prentice Memorial Trust Fund.
On 21 April 2020, WLAQ virtually hosted the Awards (our first video conference event) with the Una Prentice Memorial Trust Patron, the Hon Justice Debra Mullins AO of the Court of Appeal Queensland, in attendance to address the recipients, who were joined online by family, friends, their employers and members of the Bench. Justice Mullins, who was the recipient of the Una Prentice Award for the University of Queensland in 1980 (for the 1979 year), gave an inspiring address, spoke fondly of Ms Prentice’s achievements and offered some welcomed advice to the students as they move into the next stage of their careers.
The recording of Una Prentice Awards can be found online.
The Una Prentice Awards for 2019 as announced by WLAQ Vice-President, Ann-Maree David, were awarded to:
Mia Williams | University of Queensland, represented by Prof Tamara Walsh
Felicity Wood | Queensland University of Technology, represented by Prof Dan Hunter
Liliana Meunier | Bond University, represented by Prof Nick James
Elisha Hines | James Cook University, represented by Prof Elizabeth Spencer
Alexandria Neumann | Griffith University, represented by A/Prof Therese Wilson
Maryanne Mitchell | University of Southern Queensland, represented by Prof Reid Mortensen
Bee Ang | Central Queensland University, represented by Prof Lee Di Milia
Grace Cooper | University of the Sunshine Coast, represented by Prof Jay Sanderson
Following the announcement of the Award recipients, WLAQ President, Jamie Shine officially launched the 2020 Mentoring Program and thanked the mentors for dedicating their time to assist the mentees with progressing their career. WLAQ is grateful to The College of Law Queensland for their sponsorship of the Awards and their ongoing support in educating the next generation of lawyers.
The WLAQ Committee would also like to personally thank the Office of the Department of Public Prosecutions Queensland for the donation following their International Women’s Day morning tea. The money raised was donated to WLAQ and contributed to the purchase of the gifts for the Una Prentice Award recipients. The donation was a very generous gesture from the ODDP and thank you to Dzenita Balic for her coordination.
Finally, thank you to all who (virtually) attended the Una Prentice Awards and who have supported the students throughout their studies; we look forward to celebrating with you all in person in the near future.
