When Victoria Vivente logged in from Sydney, Stephanie Hupfeld from Adelaide and Hannah Fernie from Wollongong, they were strangers starting UNE Law online in Term 1, 2021. Today they are a solicitor, a judge’s associate and a soon to be advocate whose friendship is proof that online study at UNE is anything but isolating.
Different paths, same destination
Victoria came to UNE while working as a financial counsellor supporting people in financial crisis.
“My manager recommended I undertake further study to help my leadership development, and I found myself at UNE because of the flexible learning style,” she says.
Stephanie had worked in retail management and call centres and timed her study around her son starting school.
“As I was working and the primary carer for my son, I did not have the luxury of attending classes in person,” she explains. “I contacted Open Universities to enquire about the different options available for law degrees. They recommended UNE straight away, and within a 30-minute phone call, my law journey began.”
Hannah moved from long, physically demanding hours in hospitality and property management, and shifted to UNE when COVID disrupted on campus learning.
“If you are a parent or work full-time, or are just generally time poor, the flexibility that studying law online at UNE is by far the best thing about how UNE delivers this degree,” she says.
From PASS sessions to “The Charmed Ones”
The trio first connected in PASS sessions, tutorials and the UNE Law Students Facebook group.
“Both Victoria and Stephanie are absolutely hilarious, so sharing the same sense of humour would have played a big part in us just naturally gravitating towards each other,” Hannah says.
Stephanie was “very impressed” that Hannah had created and organised the Facebook group, noting she “certainly gives off 'mum' energy”. Victoria initially seemed “elusive”, but her strong tutorial contributions quickly stood out.
Their friendship took off in Law in Context in Trimester 3, 2021.
“For the three of us, I would say we bonded over the combination of being incredibly busy, wanting to achieve good marks, and having a low tolerance for nonsense,” Victoria says.
Their group chat, “The Charmed Ones”, became a constant source of accountability and support.
“Trying to finish a law degree while navigating families, jobs, fur babies, and every other aspect of life makes you very selective in relation to who deserves your energy,” Stephanie says. “Hannah and Victoria will always be there if you need them.”
Time zones, law balls and Bali
Studying across Sydney, Adelaide, Wollongong and, at one stage, Perth meant mastering time zones.
“We certainly have developed a knack for working across multiple timezones,” Victoria says.
Some of their strongest memories come from finally being in the same place. Stephanie recalls the 2024 Law Ball in Armidale.
“We spent the night at our Airbnb cooking pasta for dinner and watching a movie,” she says. “The next night, we all got ready for the law ball together. It was a lot of fun.”
Victoria remembers an in person moot weekend that captured their dynamic: dropping Stephanie at Officeworks for a last-minute printer run while Hannah cooked dinner and offered moral support back at the Airbnb.
Their long planned New Year trip to Bali marked the completion of all three LLBs.
“We went to Bali over New Year to celebrate that we have all completed our degrees which was an iconic full circle moment,” Victoria says.
Hannah adds that they “commemorated our journey with small, matching tattoos”.
Why UNE Law worked for them
All three are clear that UNE’s flexible online delivery made studying law realistic and surprisingly social.
“I would definitely recommend people to study at UNE, especially those who are working or have a young family,” Stephanie says. “Being able to attend almost everything online or access recordings of the sessions if you cannot make it made finishing the degree possible.”
“People often assume that studying online can be isolating; however, I had the opposite experience and have made a lot of life-long friends,” she adds.
Hannah’s advice to new UNE Law students is simple.
“Studying law is hard. It can be stressful and overwhelming,” she says. “Find the two funniest people you can and make them your friends.”
Victoria sums up the impact of both UNE Law and their friendship.
“I am lucky to have found Hannah and Steph. I simply could not have got through this degree without them,” she says. “Now we get to support each other in our new careers. I cannot wait to see where we end up in five years' time.”
