NLS students celebrated in Prize Giving Ceremony videos for exceptional community impact
This year, three NLS students were featured in promotional videos as part of the Law School’s Prize Giving ceremony, recognising their outstanding work and dedication to improving the community. Aleksandra Szostak (LLB), Harry Barnett (LLB) and Harsh Sagar (LLM Master of Laws) were awarded a certificate in recognition of their achievements this past academic year.
Published on 29 May 2025
Categories: Current students; Nottingham Law School;
Aleksandra and Harry were recognised for their work as volunteers for NLS Legal, the multi-award winning on-campus law firm. NLS Legal provides free legal advice and assistance in business, employment, housing, and family law, to name a few. Through partnerships with local community centres, they extend their impact even further.
One such collaboration is with Nottingham Women’s Centre, whose mission is to support women across Nottinghamshire overcome barriers and achieve their potential. Through this partnership, Aleksandra, and other volunteers, provide vital legal advice to women in need, under the supervision of experienced lawyers. In the video, Aleksandra shares her passion for helping survivors of domestic violence, explaining that a desire to help others was a key motivation behind her decision to study law.
Harry played a pivotal role in the delivery of welfare benefits advice, a critical area given its complex nature and impact on vulnerable people’s lives. Having attended several hearings in his time as volunteer, he helped secure a life-changing financial entitlement for a client with a brain injury.
It felt amazing to get that outcome, to know that my advocacy, with the support of my supervisors and all the staff at NLS Legal, was able to help someone in that way and create a profound difference in society for someone who really needed that support.
Harry Barnett
Last November, Harsh, alongside ARES student Josh Shaw (MRes in Endangered Species Recovery and Conservation) attended COP16 in Columbia, the United Nations Biodiversity Conference. Harsh and Josh became the UK’s first official youth participants, as part of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network. They joined delegates from 169 countries and a record-breaking 23,500 observers.
Throughout the conference, they engaged with international and UK government representatives, advocating for the integration of UK youth priorities for nature into the UN Convention on Biological Diversity decisions. They connected with key stakeholders, including CEO of The Wildlife Trusts, Craig Bennett, the Chair of Natural England, Tony Juniper, the chair of the JNCC, Gemma Harper and government ministers. They also attended negotiations, side events and spoke on panels to promote youth involvement, highlighting the role of students in nature-positive universities.
NLS is proud of Aleksandra, Harry and Harsh for their dedication, compassion and impact – both in the local community and on the global stage. Their achievements exemplify the values of the Law School: a commitment to justice, community engagement and empowering future legal professionals. Whether they become solicitors, barristers or policy-makers, they have already shown the potential to create lasting and positive change, and we look forward to seeing what they do next.