International Student of the Year finalist

Budding human rights lawyer Maria Lobato is in the running to become NSW’s International Student of the Year in the Higher Education category, thanks to her passion for student activism and volunteer work with refugees.

The state government awards celebrate initiatives of international students and recognise their contributions to the community.

While living in Sydney and completing a Master of Law, the Argentinian-born student has served as the Coursework Student Officer for ARC’s Postgraduate Council, and is a member of the Postgraduate Coursework Committee of the Academic Board.

In these roles Maria has launched a peer-mentoring program for postgraduate students and is also working on ways to increase women’s representation in postgraduate student bodies, both at UNSW and in her position as the Women’s Officer for the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.  

“There are currently very few female nominees for next year's Postgraduate Student Council at UNSW. 

“The lack of affirmative action for Postgraduate Council Office Bearers is an issue of concern for me. I feel that there is a need to advocate for the introduction of policy in this respect," she says. 

As Women’s Officer Maria also advocated for the rights of international students and campaigned in support of the retrospective application of post-study work visa rights for all current students.

Gender issues and women’s rights have been a focus of Maria’s academic and volunteer work as well. Earlier this year she undertook an internship with the UNSW Centre for Refugee Research (CRR) in Thailand and volunteered as a refugee Caseworker for Amnesty International.

“My internship with the Centre allowed me to facilitate a series of human rights workshops for the Women’s League of Burma and the Shan Women Action Network. It was an enriching experience and has inevitably reshaped my position as a human rights lawyer with a strong gender perspective,” she says.

Maria says her nomination is an exciting way to top off the completion of her Masters program.  

“It is wonderful to be recognised for all the work that I’ve done in Australia. I feel that I have contributed to things that are of importance here, and I really value that.”  

The winners of the NSW International Student of the Year Awards will be announced on Thursday, 10 October at the Sydney Opera House.

Media contact: Cassie Chorn, UNSW Media Office, 02 9385 8107