Abigail Gregorio’s friends call it ‘the Abi effect’, the impact the second-year Law student has on everyone she comes into contact with, and now the 23-year-old has been awarded this year’s Ciara Glennon Memorial Law Scholarship at The University of Western Australia.

"It’s something I’m highly passionate about from a lived experience – WA is one of the only jurisdictions in Australia that doesn’t acknowledge how intoxication affects the ability of a person to consent to sexual acts."

Scholarship winner Abigail Gregorio

Originally from Bunbury, Abigail overcame difficult personal circumstances and spent a gap year raising funds to allow her to move to Perth in 2019 to begin her studies at UWA, where she has completed a Bachelor of Arts and is now undertaking a postgraduate Juris Doctor degree.

“It is incredibly humbling to be the recipient of this scholarship and it’s not just about the financial support which will be life-changing but learning more about Ciara and the impact she had in her life and the way that the scholarship has given people such wonderful opportunities,” Abigail said.

Image: Back - Professor Anna Nowak (DVCR UWA), Professor Natalie Skead (Dean of UWA Law School), Adrain Chai (Partner, Ashhurst), The Hon Peter Quinlan (Chief Justice of Western Australia). Front - Denise Glennon (Ciara's sister), Una Glennon (Ciara's mother), Abigail Gregoria, Associate. Professor Meredith Blake (UWA Law School), Denis Glennon (Ciara's father).

As well as working at Specsavers to support herself while studying, Abigail is an active member of the legal community and is founder of the campaign WA Consent, which aims to raise awareness of the lack of legislative clarity in WA’s Criminal Code regarding intoxication and consent to sexual activity.

“It’s something I’m highly passionate about from a lived experience – WA is one of the only jurisdictions in Australia that doesn’t acknowledge how intoxication affects the ability of a person to consent to sexual acts; we are so far behind,” she said.

Passionate about social justice, human rights and protecting the welfare of children, Abigail has made a submission to the WA Law Reform Commission on the issue of WA Consent and volunteers at community organisations, including the Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing’s Lived Experience Advisory Group and the Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Foundation.

Hoping to one day work as an independent children’s lawyer so that she can advocate for young people caught up in family law court disputes, Abigail has worked as a voluntary paralegal with the Student Legal Advice Centre since the service began in 2023.

Friends Sian O’Sullivan and Claudia Desveaux said Abigail was already making a genuine difference in the world and, in every interaction, aiming to leave the other person with a smile on their face.

“This applies to cashiers, baristas, people everywhere – the mindset of ‘the smallest comments having the biggest impacts’ can be seen in every single contact she has,” Claudia said.

The Ciara Glennon Memorial Scholarship was established in 1998 with the support of the Glennon family. It is sponsored by Ashurst (formerly Blake Dawson), the law firm where Ms Glennon worked.

It is awarded annually to a full-time student from UWA’s Law School who needs financial help to continue studying, makes a recognisable contribution to the community, demonstrates an active interest in an area outside the practice of law and shows a balanced approach to life and concern for others.