Hana Schofield
LLB (2002)
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In May 1992, twelve-year-old Hana is put on one of the last UN evacuation buses fleeing the besieged city of Sarajevo by her elder sister Atka. Two years later, having lived as a refugee in Croatia, Hana arrived in Christchurch speaking no English. Fast forward ten years. In 2002 Hana graduated from UC with degrees in Law and Russian.
In 2011, Hana, together with Atka, celebrated the release of Goodbye Sarajevo, their account of the bloodiest European conflict since World War Two. Published by Bloomsbury (and written in Christchurch), Goodbye Sarajevo is a great achievement handled with honesty, humour and compassion. Hana speaks directly to her fellow UC alumni.
Q. You graduated from UC with a first class honours in Law and a bachelor’s degree in Russian. Why did you choose this combination of subjects to study?
It was a mixture of different reasons. I knew I wanted to have a professional career and since I've always enjoyed writing/languages, Law seemed like a natural choice. I was also influenced by the fact that UC has a highly reputable Law Faculty and having other friends enrolling in the same course. Russian? I thought it would be good to have something creative to balance the study of Law.
Q. Did your childhood experiences have an impact on your choice of degrees and subsequent career?
Absolutely. My Dad always used to call me a 'lawyer' when I was younger, I had a tendency to 'argue' my case if I wanted something... But it was the experience of living in Croatia as a refugee for two years which made having a career and financial security extremely important to me. With a law degree, I knew the likelihood of having a secure job and a steady income was higher.
After practising law for five years, I felt that I earned the right to set time aside to do what I was passionate about - to write a book with Atka, something that we'd wanted to do for several years.
Q. You wrote Goodbye Sarajevo with your sister Atka who is married to a New Zealander. How did this creative and collaborative process work for you?
We actually wrote the book at the Christchurch City Library - both of us were living in the city at the time and most of our family are still there. The process was cathartic and immensely enjoyable. Atka and I missed out on having some carefree times together as young adults because of the war - writing the book gave us that time together and we become even closer friends. Both of us are married to NZers and now live in Auckland.
Q. Career highlights so far?
As a lawyer, working for one of the leading law firms in NZ, Chapman Tripp, and in London for a City Law Firm.
As a writer, having our first book, Goodbye Sarajevo, published by a prestigious international publisher such as Bloomsbury.
Q. Goals for the future?
Personally, I think it's really important to keep reinventing ourselves, both professionally and personally, through all the different stages of our lives. My goals? To keep doing my best, write another book, help others...
Q. What are some of your memories of your time at UC?
There are many fond memories from my time at UC. I loved being surrounded by contemporaries who were eager to learn, do well, but at the same time make the most of our youth and social side of life at UC. I've formed lifelong friendships and met my now husband at the College of Law cafe :)
Anything else you would like to add?
My tertiary education at UC has been my ticket into the world and a great career. It's enabled me to work in a top law firm in NZ and made a career in law in London possible. Working as an equal with graduates from Cambridge and Oxford universities in England reassured me about the quality of education we received at UC. I'm very proud to be a UC graduate.