Law student Maria wins essay prize at the House of Lords

Law student Maria Anderson won the writing competition Why Character Matters?

IT is not every day a student is invited to the House of Lords to have tea on the terrace overlooking the Thames.  However, this is exactly what happened to a University of Huddersfield student after being one of the winners of the writing competition Why Character Matters?.

Law student Maria Anderson, from Leeds, entered the competition organised by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues with her fictional story highlighting the very different views two people perceive of one another as they cross paths every day.

The awards were presented by House of Lords peer Lord James O’Shaughnessy and the five winners received awards of £100 and an invitation to attend a sit down meal with drinks reception at the House of Lords with their families.

The competition was open to all university students from across the country, studying any discipline, with the brief of providing a story, poem or essay of no more than 500 words and consider the meaning and importance of particular virtues in private, public and professional life. 

Below are contrasting excerpts from Maria’s story:

“Every day I had to walk past the beastly sight.  The marble pillars of the bank contrasted heavily with the homeless woman and her cardboard dwelling.  I watched as she asked for money, no doubt they were as disgusted as me.  Why should I work hard each day to provide for my family, whilst she sits and scrounges for pennies to fuel a drug addiction.  No doubt she searches for freebies from people bags, yet there are many charities helping to fuel her destruction of society.  The world today astounds me.”

“Every day I have to watch that beastly man walk past me.  I wonder if he knows I worked for 30 years of my life.  I wonder if he knows the recession took my job, my home and my family.  People walk past me without giving a seconds thought.  This could be their mother, sister, friend.  They assume I am an addict or a drunk, they protect their valuables in an effort to stop me from stealing.  Little do they know I am trying to tell them their bags are unzipped.  There are so many homeless and not enough money in the charities.  If only people would open their eyes.  The world today astounds me.”

As a law student, Maria, who is 20-years-old, works as a volunteer in the University of Huddersfield’s Legal Advice Clinic, situated in Huddersfield town centre.  The Centre, which is run entirely by student volunteers, offers free impartial legal advice to people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to it.

“This competition has allowed me to reflect on my work and experiences in the Clinic,” said Maria.  “More people than ever before, of all characters and backgrounds, need access to legal advice because of the lack of Legal Aid funding.  By working in the Clinic, I’ve learnt valuable skills that you just couldn’t learn in a classroom environment and which I’ll take forward into my career,” she said.