Name
Emilie Ancelin
Graduation Year
2018
Subject of study
Law (LLB Hons)
What are you up to at the moment?
Preparing the entry exam to the bar in France
Why did you choose to study at Royal Holloway?
I chose to study at Royal Holloway because I wanted to get a degree that was not from a "basic" London university. I wanted something more than just a diploma, I wanted a real student experience. The modules that were taught at royal Holloway and the fact the department of law was a very small one with a limited number of people who had been selected was a bonus that I liked because it made me feel special. When I first went to the campus it was love at first sight and it immediately felt like home.
What did you enjoy most about your course?
The academic environment was ideal and very diverse. I loved the diversity of the courses that were taught. For instance, I got to study international law and comparative human rights but also medical law and ethics, and those were exactly the law subjects that interested me. We had top class lecturers whom were absolutely amazing, so passionate and inspiring, they were always helping us to make the most of our study and to achieve our very best.
How did Royal Holloway help you to discover opportunities and prepare you for life after university / to find your purpose in life?
Royal Holloway was the most inspirational place to study. it gave me huge opportunities to get involved in charities and student representation, either throughout societies or even by being elected and re-elected student representative on council college. It helped me to be more confident and at ease when talking to others and standing for my beliefs.
Please tell us about your career journey since graduating and what you are doing now.
After I graduated from Royal Holloway, I went to do a conjoined LLM with the LPC with the University of Law in London, in order to become a solicitor. Then Covid 19 and Brexit stroke and I could not secure a training contract or a paralegal position that suited me. I had to go back to France where I got a job in a law firm. In 2022, I started the preparation for the entry exam to the Paris bar which I hoping to pass this year.
What advice would you give to students thinking about a career in your sector?
I would say that it is going to be tough and you will need to work hard but you can do it, nobody can stop you, If I can do it, so can you so don't stop yourself and don't listen to your imposter syndrome.
What is your greatest professional achievement to date?
My 5 years of law studies in the UK have been, so far, my biggest achievement. I come from France, so English is not my mother tongue, yet I managed to get a law degree with honours and a LLM LPC.
When you started at Royal Holloway, did you have a strong sense/ ambition of what you wanted to get from your time at university? What was special about Royal Holloway that helped you achieve this?
I've known that I wanted to be a lawyer since I was 14. At the age of 15 I fell in love with England and its culture and it was my dream to attend an English university. Attending Royal Holloway at the age of 19 was just the cherry on the cake of everything I always wanted to do.
