Shannon was motivated to study law after being inspired by his high school legal studies teacher Jenny Emms. At the time, Jenny was undertaking an online criminology/law degree through UNE. Jenny raved about her experience at UNE. Shannon decided to follow his teacher’s lead and enrol in a Bachelor of Criminology at UNE. With the encouragement of Jamie Watts, who was then a Resident Fellow at Earle Page College, he changed his enrolment to a double degree in criminology and law.

Shannon Matchett

Shannon has acquired two amazing mentors in both the law and criminology disciplines. They are Associate Professor Amanda Kennedy and Dr Helena Menih.

Shannon has completed a number of criminology courses with Helena. In fact Shannon quipped that such was her skill as a teacher, she was even able to make statistics interesting! Helena was equally impressed with Shannon. She asked him to help her with a research project entitled ‘Abuse on Contact.’ This project investigates the needs and supports for children when there is court mandated contact with a parent, who is an alleged abuser. This issue is explored through a service providers’ perspective.

Shannon and Associate Professor Amanda Kennedy

The other academic who has made a significant contribution towards Shannon’s academic progress is Associate Professor Amanda Kennedy. Shannon first got to know Amanda when she was the Academic Master at Earle Page College. He has completed a number of law courses with Amanda. These courses have ignited Shannon’s passion for helping rural and regional areas thrive. Most recently, Shannon has undertaken the Magistrates Internship Program which was coordinated by Amanda.

Shannon describes this prestigious program as the ‘peak’ of his law degree. In order to complete this unit, Shannon was invited to work as an intern with Magistrate Soars in Tamworth. Whilst he was undertaking his internship, Shannon engaged with procedural issues, written submissions, and witnessed judgments being constructed. Shannon was particularly fascinated by how Magistrate Soars came to a legal finding. He saw ‘the gears behind the decision’ and was interested to see what the tipping point was in terms of coming to a determination. He was also given the opportunity to present a written plea and a sentencing submission. After this exercise, Her Honour informed Shannon that he has a ‘natural gift for advocacy.’ Praise from such a distinguished legal authority helped validate Shannon’s confidence he was following the right path, and all his hard work had been worthwhile. This experience was the ideal full stop to Shannon’s double degree!

As well as being an excellent student, Shannon is also a committed member of Earle Page College. In fact, he has undertaken many leadership roles in the college. Shannon is currently the Academic Coordinator at the iconic residence. Within this role, he focuses on strategy and policy development. The aspect Shannon loves best about Earle Page College is the floor culture that exists. Each floor has approximately 20 residents and these residents always have dinner together- nobody ever eats alone. As you can imagine, these friendships often last for a life time!

Shannon Matchett and Kath Hunt

Shannon has a strong social conscience and ultimately wants to help regional and rural communities thrive! He hopes to break down the barriers to justice for disadvantaged people and achieve the best possible outcomes for his clients. Shannon is passionate about helping others and we are confident he will use his knowledge and passion to achieve this.

Thank you for sharing your story with us Shannon!