Humans of Warwick - Enaya Nihal

Enaya Nihal

President, Warwick SU

“I arrived on campus at 2am and couldn’t believe it was all real!”

“I grew up in Saudi Arabia & India and always wanted to have an education abroad. I looked at the US, Canada, and the UK, but it was the people that drew me into coming to Warwick.

It was during lockdown, so I couldn’t attend an open day. Everything was done online or through group chats with other people who were interested in coming here. Some of those people I met online are now my best friends.

I started studying Economics, Politics and International Studies back in September 2020. I’d never been to the UK before, it took me four and a half hours to get through border control. Arriving here in the early hours, the first thing I saw was Bluebell accommodation block. It actually looked like the place my friends and I had spent hours poring over on the website. It’s been a massive change and lots of new things to get used to. I won’t go into the food, but I really do love being here in the UK. Being from Saudi, which is mostly a desert, I also love the weather. I know that sounds odd, but it’s nice to have the unpredictable British weather! Autumn is my favourite time of the year, the colours are amazing, especially on campus.

I got involved in the union through a variety of part time roles starting in October of my first year and here I am, President of the SU! It’s a very interesting role and obviously having been a student, I know what it’s like and what the priorities are for the student communities, making sure their voices are heard. It’s a very public facing role, you get involved in everything that is happening across campus.

One of my proudest achievements is the (Free) Breakfast Club. This was set up to help tackle the impact of the Cost-of-Living crisis last year. It’s been a great success, and we see hundreds of students come in every week. I knew if they’re queueing up to come in at 8.30 on a cold February morning, then it was needed, even as a first step… student wellbeing is at the heart of every decision I’ve made at the Union.

My time here has meant so much more than what I envisioned. I didn’t get the opportunities back home that I have here. I’ve really thrown myself into university life and taken full advantage of the freedom. It means so much to me. We never had concerts back home, either, so I’m always looking to go to a gig! Catch me at everything from Fall Out Boy to Taylor Swift!”