University of Queensland law alum Matisse Reed has been announced as Queensland's 2025 Rhodes Scholar.
Ms Reed received the honour from Queensland Governor, The Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM, at Government House in Brisbane yesterday.
She graduated from UQ with a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws (Hons) in 2023 and was awarded the University Medal in Law and the UQ Law Society Medal for Outstanding Achievement.
Ms Reed will use her Rhodes Scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies in law and public policy at the University of Oxford from 2025, with a focus on international humanitarian and human rights law.
She grew up in the far north Queensland town of Herberton, where her educator parents led a small boarding school for Indigenous students.
“Growing up in Herberton, I was confronted by the realities of disadvantage from a unique perspective,” Ms Reed said.
“I learnt quickly that education is a gift synonymous with opportunity.
“In my view, humanity’s most pressing challenge is that millions around the world live without access to education and opportunity.
“My Rhodes Scholarship is a gift of education that I will strive to pay forward for the rest of my life.”
While at UQ, Ms Reed volunteered as an assistant editor for the International Journal of Humanitarian Law and as a student volunteer with the UQ Pro Bono Centre and the Prisoners’ Legal Service.
She also served as Vice-President (Education) with the UQ Law Society and represented UQ in mooting and mediation competitions.
During her studies, Ms Reed worked as a research assistant to Matthew Jones KC and with the UQ School of Law, and as a paralegal in Minter Ellison’s dispute resolution team.
She also completed a semester abroad at the University of Edinburgh in 2023, where she studied international law.
Ms Reed has done extensive research on the criminalisation of migration, and has an interest in the academic fields of international humanitarian and human rights law.
More than 500 Australian Rhodes Scholars have been selected since the scheme began.
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