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By Alesha Capone

15th December 2009 11:05:08 AM

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ALMEDINA Mesic burst into tears when she opened the letter which said she had been accepted to study law at university, after studying hard for her VCE at Copperfield College in Delahey.

Now aged 21, the Cairnlea resident has just completed her Bachelor of Laws at Victoria University.

She has planned to do a further six months of education to get a certificate to practice as a solicitor, and has received a $5000 scholarship from a Victorian Department of Justice program which assists students from refugee communities to pursue tertiary studies.

Ms Mesic travelled to Australia as a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with her mother, father and older brother when she was 11 years old.

“At the age of three, our house started to get bombed. I had no time to play with dolls and was probably quite mature and knew a lot for my age,” she said.

Arriving in a foreign country, the young girl spoke no English.

However, after attending the St Albans Primary School’s language centre for a few months, she learned to speak fluent English and is now on the verge of realising her dream to become a solicitor.

“The idea of me getting up and fighting for someone’s rights is exciting,” she said.

“My parents said I’d be a lawyer because I always talked back to them.”

Ms Mesic hopes to become a criminal or immigration lawyer, and spends one day each week volunteering at Broadmeadows Legal Aid, dealing with prosecutors and organising briefs.

“I’m based at the court and there are too many people who need help, sometimes the line goes on forever,” she said.

“A lot of people who come can’t afford a lawyer and it’s a way for me to give back.

“Some don’t speak English, which I can relate to.”

The law student, who also works part-time at a jewellery store in Watergardens, said the Department of Justice scholarship would help purchase books for her upcoming course.

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