Rosena Sammi - BA, LLB (Hons), LLM

Rosena Sammi (née Rasalingam) was awarded her BA/LLB (Hons) in 1997 and is now utilising the skills she learnt as a lawyer to run her own business in New York.

After graduating Rosena worked in the litigation department of Ben Gully. In 2000 she left for the University of Virginia in Charlottesville where she earned an LLM in 2001. Rosena spent the next four years practicing law as a corporate litigator at Torys LLP in New York.

While living in New York Rosena pursued her passion for jewellery design, which included studying at Parsons School of Design. In 2005 she decided to pursue her hobby fulltime and launched her own jewellery design business under the label Rosena Sammi. Rosena Sammi jewelry is now sold at such prestigious stores as Saks Fifth Avenue and is showcased on the web at www.rosenasammi.com.

Rosena has found that the skills she learnt through her law degree have been critical to the success of her business "the discipline I learned as a lawyer and the oral and written skills I acquired have been essential in running my company" she says.

Rosena lives in New York and loves taking in everything the city has to offer from the museums and theatre to the wide array of restaurants and bars.

She has fond memories of her time at The University of Auckland Law school and believes that the community atmosphere that is fostered there is one of its best assets. Rosena chose to study at The University Auckland because of its diverse and dynamic campus, and recommends that students take advantage of the hotbed of knowledge and intellectual discourse available to them. Other advice she offers to students is to find mentors, make good friends and most of all, savour this time of learning and self-discovery.

Rosena's brother, Ravi Rasalingam is also a graduate from The University of Auckland. Ravi graduated from the Medical school in 1996 and went on to complete his medical training in the United States. He is now a cardiologist in St Louis, Missouri.