Kirsty Schneeberger is the NGO Campaign coordinator and Researcher for WWF-UK.  Kirsty attended both Prep and Senior Schools and graduated in 2003.

What are your happiest memories of the Marist?
I was so scruffy in my youth teachers were always reminding me to tie my shoelaces and tuck in my shirt!  I had a knack for losing track of time and remember one lunch break where, late again from playing on the hill at the Prep, I could just make out the tail-end of the blue Marist girls centipede marching up the steps back to classes. 
 
With just minutes to catch up, I launched myself down the hill at top speed with my shoe laces undone.  Just as the last of the centipede wiggled over the school threshold, a shoe came flying off.  My heart sank, as I heard 'Miss Schneeberger’ ring out in soft Irish tones from headmistress, Sister Killian, as I put the shoe back on and tied a bow.  I was very late and also hopelessly dishevelled.  I bravely looked up into the face of reprimand but her gentle face melted into a smile saying 'This school is going to make a lady out of you yet.'  Patting my head, she kindly ushered me forwards, overlooking my untucked shirt, slouching socks and unruly hair.  Perhaps it was because one shoe lace was tied into an immaculate bow?

What is it like working for the WWF?
Very green and leafy, with patches of black and white fur.

What motivates you?
I am motivated by life itself and its endless possibilities.  I believe that life is there to be lived - not watched - and I try to approach everything I do with all the energy I have.
 
What inspires you?
I admire and respect those who overcome hardships and go on to achieve success.  Generosity and kindness also inspires me.  I am currently fundraising to cover the costs of a UN climate change conference that I am attending in Poznan as part of the UK Youth Delegation.  Through such generosity, I have raised enough money to cover all my costs and am setting up a bursary with surplus funds.  This bursary will help fund someone to attend the UN conference in Copenhagen next year, who would not ordinarily have been able to afford it.

How have your experiences influenced you?
I was fortunate to attend the Global Young Leaders' Conference in Washington and New York when in Year 12.  This adventure opened my eyes to the possibility of living and studying abroad and I attended University in Sydney, Australia.  Moving abroad and discovering how different people live has certainly improved my own understanding of the kind of changes that I wish to see in the world. 
 
Before moving to Australia I spent three months in Fiji teaching at the Marist Schools there.  I became submerged in a beautifully simple way of living: the villagers grew their food, picked and prepared it, and then ate it in its purest and natural form.  The way I live now has been positively influenced by the different countries that I have lived in, and I continue to seek out new ways that I can alter my own lifestyle so that my personal impact on the environment is as minimal as possible.
 
What have you found most rewarding in your job?
The greatest reward, I think, is simply knowing that the work you are doing is valuable, and that you are a useful member of society.  I have interned at charities that are striving to make a positive difference in the world.  I now work for the WWF an inspirational environmental organisation that is striving to promote ways of living that will ensure people and all plant and animal-kind can continue to exist on our planet.  
 
What is a typical day like for you?
My WWF work is rather varied and so I don’t have a 'typical' day.  I am currently coordinating a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGO) including Amnesty International UK, Campaign Against the Arms Trade, Jubilee Debt and Jubilee Debt Scotland, the Corner House and WWF-UK.  The coalition seeks to reform the work and conduct of a Government Department involved in developments abroad that often has a serious impact on the environment and local communities.   I recently organised a meeting in Westminster where coalition representatives and MPs sat together to develop the campaign strategy. 
 
What is next for you?
I am training to be a barrister and begin the Bar Vocational Course next September.  The course teaches all the practical aspects of working as a barrister, such as how to improve my advocacy skills and hopefully how to wear a wig properly!   After this course I will spend a year completing a 'Pupillage', where I will ‘shadow’ barristers and do small pieces of work for them under their supervision.  This will include watching a leading case on 'Proprietary Estoppel' in the House of Lords.