From high school to Parliament: Australia's youngest senator's jaw-dropping salary and perks revealed - as her yearbook photo emerges
But just three short years later she has been elected as a senator to represent the good people of South Australia on a whopping base salary of $239,270.
That pay cheque will likely far outstrip any of her former class mates - and is more than double what most nurses, teachers and police officers can ever hope to be paid.
It also comes with a generous travel and accommodation allowance, in addition to office and electorate expenses, which can easily wrack up into the tens of thousands of dollars.
Senator Walker will also be offered membership to the highly exclusive Chairman's Lounge - a private lounge for VIPs flying with Qantas in all of Australia's major airports.
Her entitlements include unlimited domestic travel for official duties and access to COMCAR, a chauffeur-driven car service available in Canberra and other major cities.
Senators who reside outside Canberra are eligible to claim a second residence allowance or be reimbursed for accommodation costs - up to $300 per night tax free.
Many take advantage of this by purchasing property in Canberra and still claiming the allowance for staying in their own home, a practice that, while controversial, remains within the rules.
She also receives a fully funded electorate office, which comes with at least four full-time staff, as well as taxpayer-covered office supplies, IT equipment, printing, and postage.
In addition, she is granted a communications allowance for newsletters, advertising, and constituent surveys, which alone can total tens of thousands of dollars each year.
While most 21-year-olds spend their birthdays downing shots and doing things they later regret, Senator Walker spent her May 3 birthday waiting anxiously to see if she would be elected to public office.
The former president of Young Labor had been selected for the normally unwinnable third spot on the party's SA Senate ticket.
But when the scale of Labor's landslide became clear, it was soon apparent that she would gain entry to the upper house.
She had been working in a junior role at the Australian Services Union - a post she started after one year of study at the University of Adelaide.
Another unearthed picture showed Senator Walker at her school formal in a vibrant red dress - perhaps a nod to her political leanings. She is a member of the Labor left faction.
Senator Walker has wasted no time in her new job, clashing with Pauline Hanson over the One Nation leader's belief that the push for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 should be abandoned.
After Senator Hanson - who is 50 years her senior - claimed it would 'destroy jobs and the Australian economy', Senator Walker hit back.
'All I can say is, are you kidding?' Senator Walker said.
'The motion put forward on net zero indicates a severe lack of knowledge and a complete disregard for the future of our generation, the future of our country.
'Without a net zero target, there will be no Australian farmers, businesses or industries to support us.
'Net zero is waking up to a reality that Senator Hanson has not been able to grasp. In fact, Senator Hanson seems to be hellbent on exacerbating all of the consequences of climate change.'
In turn, Senator Hanson lashed her younger colleague, claiming it was she who failed to understand what net zero really means.
'She's no sooner out of bloody university and out of her nappies than she's telling me I don't know what the hell I'm talking about when I've been on the floor of parliament for the last nine years,' Senator Hanson told Sky News.
'I don't take any notice of her, who's just trying to make her place in this parliament - and congratulations. But don't come in thinking that you're going to tell me what I know or what I don't know when I have been dealing with this for many years.'
Perhaps Senator Walker's first instance of youthful indiscretion came when she she deleted an Instagram video documenting a day in her life in parliament.
The clip had been met with a wave of criticism on social media, with many users branding it 'cringe,' 'embarrassing,' and evidence of taxpayers' money being wasted.
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