For 25-plus years, lecturer Margaret Bond set the goal of bringing the law to life.
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"Students contemplating the study of law will often express some reservations, saying the law may be a bit dry for them, with lots of dusty old cases to read," Ms Bond said.
"But the law is dynamic and responsive.
"Cases aren't dead things; they are people's stories, a window into real people's lives.
"They show you the legal muddles that people get themselves into and you see how the law applied to resolve their disputes."
Ms Bond grew up in the Illawarra, before relocating to Sydney for university.
In the early 1990s, Ms Bond exchanged power suits and a prestigious job as a solicitor at an international commercial law firm for an academic position at the University of Wollongong.
It led to a long-standing career as a law lecturer.
"When I started teaching down here in 1993 I just loved it," Ms Bond, now 63, said.
"You know when you've found what you should do. Teaching law has been my passion.
"It was a great experience to work for one of the big law firms, but I felt like I was play-acting most of the time.
"It was fantastic in terms of legal practice, you had all the resources at your fingertips.
"However, it was a strange life only representing the top end of town. It wasn't really where my heart was."
The UOW Contract Law, Remedies and Civil Procedure teacher was a key member of the team that introduced an integrated program for first-year law students, helping them to better transition from school to university.
Her passion and commitment to teaching was recognised by the Vice-Chancellor's Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning Award in 2013, and a Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning by the Australian Office for Learning and Teaching in 2015.
A few years ago, a health scare prompted a change in perspective, and eventually led to her decision to retire at the end of this month.
"It made me realise you have to take advantage of your good health," Ms Bond said.
"More than anything it's hard to leave the students.
"The students keep you on your toes and feeling young."
Ms Bond said her future plans included a little travel.
"I plan to wake up every morning and make a new plan for every day, rather than be governed by the university's timetable and academic sessions," she said.
The School of Law is seeking to establish a student grant in her name, The Margaret Bond Student Development Grant.
The grant will provide funding to Law Students to develop and implement a project to enhance the student experience.
