Erin Upson

"Yarra does an amazing job of fostering connections."

Erin Upson clearly remembers her first visit to Yarra. She nervously entered the Year 12 building for scholarship testing at the end of Year 6. By the end of the day, she’d already made some new friends and she continued building friendships in Year 7.

“I came from a small Montessori school so coming to Yarra was a huge shift. I’d never worn uniform or had a locker or a weekly planner. At Montessori we’d never had bells to signal the start and end of a period either,” says Erin.

“So, making a tight-knit group of friends early on was important to me. Year 7 camp at the start of the year helped and so did the bonds I formed in my Year 7 tutorial group. I’m still in contact with some of those friends.”

At her previous school, Erin enjoyed sport and PE, played saxophone and she had performed in a few drama productions. She continued those interests at Yarra.

“I enjoyed Saturday sport and I had a small speaking role in the Year 8 production of Oliver. I continued doing music at Yarra to be part of a creative group and each year I took on new things and met new people,” she says.

“Everyone around me at Yarra was getting involved in different things and I felt if I didn’t get involved, I’d be missing out. There were so many golden opportunities – to have it all there for you was unparalleled and there was so much support.

Everyone was very encouraging of each other and everyone wanted everybody else to succeed.”

After graduating, Erin studied commerce and law at Monash University and now works as a solicitor in the corporate and commercial team at HWL Ebsworth Lawyers.

But her path into law wasn’t always straightforward. She missed out on being offered a clerkship – an important step in securing a job with a legal firm but then reapplied and was picked by her current law firm. After completing different rotations within the business, Erin decided her interests were in the corporate and commercial legal arena.

“It wasn’t easy to get where I am today but that process taught me resilience. When I initially didn’t get a clerkship, I thought the world was ending but family and friends helped me pick myself up and move on.”

Erin still remembers the school motto – Levavi Oculos – I lift up my eyes.

“For me now it means looking above the mess, not getting caught up in the nitty gritty and keeping your eyes on the greater goals and what is most important,” she says.