In this piece, BILT Student Fellow Elliot Green interviews Rio Quental, an undergraduate Law student at the University of Bristol.
What is your background?
I’m an international student, I was born and raised in China. I had no community there, it’s not really a place I could be queer, it’s not a place I could get into theatre. I was also the only not fully Chinese person in my whole school, so I’ve always felt pretty ostracised from the beginning. And this is why I decided to come to England.
My true passion is theatre, anyone who knows me knows that. And, well, because I’m international my parents only wanted to send me abroad if I did a ‘real degree’. Which is why I do law, because I still enjoy the interpretive aspect of that. But Bristol is a great place that allows me to pursue both a law degree, as well as my passion in theatre. Bristol has an amazing theatre scene, and the SU makes it really easy to keep up with your hobbies as well as studies.
Do you have a particularly memorable learning experience?
Not one specific experience, but I love my friends, April and Katie. They are so sweet, and a huge motivator for me to show up to class. Sometimes I literally wouldn’t show up otherwise. They always saves me a seat, and we’re some of the only queer people in class. That’s how we found each other, and it really changed everything. It’s also been really positive to create a sense of community outside classes, like in societies such as Transoc and Panto, and that can really translate into my learning.
I’ve met other queer people in law through those societies, and being less lonely definitely helps motivate me to finish my degree, such as the many study sessions we’ve had together. But also, building my confidence through socialising and performing is really beneficial for doing law as well.
Do you feel a sense of belonging in your degree?
Yes, depending on the people. This one lecturer I had, he was also the head of accessibility or something, and I went to his session one time and we ended up having a conversation about my thing with theatre, and he was really understanding. He was also so open too, he’s disabled like me, we both struggle with chronic pain, and it was good to have a conversation about that. And if I was ever late to a lecture, he’d be completely understanding because of that shared experience. That understanding really helps me and others feel like we belong at the University, I think. I will say, I do wish there were more law-centred societies. I know there’s the bar society (which is not actually to do with going to bars haha), but it would be nice to have something like, for example, Engiqueers, which is the queer engineering students’ society. But it’s great that something like that even exists in the first place, and I think in the future there could definitely be something like that for law students. Law can be quite competitive and toxic, but at the end of the day, it’s my friends and the law community that have really helped me through it.
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