LLB student champions change through community engagement

LLB student Zoe Drewitt shares her experience working on the Cerebra community project, highlighting the real-world impact of legal research and advocacy for disabled children and their families.

Driven by a passion for justice, Zoe Drewitt, LLB student at the School of Law, chose to study law to be part of meaningful societal change.

“Law has the power to shape societies and address pressing issues, and I want to be part of that process,” Zoe says.

Zoe’s interests span a variety of areas, from human rights to criminal law, and she values the transferable skills a law degree offers:

Critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving are all essential, not just for legal careers but for any professional setting.

Turning passion into action

Zoe’s recent involvement in the Cerebra community engagement project at the School of Law allowed her to explore the intersection of law and lived experience. Cerebra is a charity that works to improve the lives of children with neurological conditions and their families.

The programme produces a report, published in the Spring term, which is then used to raise awareness and bring about practical changes in law, public policy, and practice.

“I was motivated to apply for the Cerebra project because of my strong interest in human rights law and how systemic failings can disproportionately affect disabled children and their families,” Zoe explains. “I was keen to be part of a meaningful initiative that not only highlights injustice but also actively works toward long-term change.”

As part of her work, Zoe used discourse analysis to examine 'trauma-informed' strategy documents, exploring how language reflects (or avoids) accountability for the impact of systems on disabled children and their families.

“It challenged me to think critically about the gap between policy language and real-world outcomes and showed me how powerful words and framing can be in shaping responses within public services,” she said.

Listening through data

 Zoe’s role also involved analysing emotionally rich survey data as part of the Systems Generated Trauma project.

“The responses were often emotionally powerful and detailed, which made it difficult to categorise them neatly without losing the depth of what families were expressing,” Zoe recalls. “To overcome that, I approached the data with empathy while keeping the analysis structured and consistent.”

Make a real impact

For students considering taking part in community projects like Cerebra, Zoe says:

It’s a great opportunity to be involved in something genuinely meaningful and thought-provoking.

Zoe adds that the experience not only helped her develop key research and teamwork skills but also deepened her understanding of how the law affects real lives, particularly in areas that often go unnoticed, like the rights of disabled children and their families.

Interested in using law to make a real-world impact? Discover how our LLB programmes can help you drive change through community engagement projects.