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Winners 2015

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We are pleased to announce the eight winners of this year's OSCAs, as chosen by a panel made up of the Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Pro-Vice Chancellor, an external member of University Council and the Students' Union President.

Fraser Simpson

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Fraser graduated from the Department of Chemistry on Monday 13th July 2015.

Fraser has significantly contributed to the life of the Music Centre during his time at Warwick, having sung with the University’s chamber choir, performed extensively with Opera Warwick and Music Theatre Warwick and successfully auditioned to perform as part of three local a cappella groups. He has been involved as musical director in countless productions, has been on the Exec of four student societies in a number of roles, and holds a Music Centre exhibition award for demonstrating outstanding contribution to music making across a range of categories.

Fraser was selected for a Benefactors OSCA, which has been generously funded by donations from the University’s supporters.

   

Zena Agha

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Zena graduated from the Department of History on Monday 13th July 2015.

Zena set up a programme entitled ‘Shoot from the Lip’ with assistance from Warwick Volunteers and the English Department. With over 150 attendees at a recent poetry event in Leamington, the project has far exceeded its initial scope and any expectations. The collective of students led by Zena also visit schools and local groups to run workshops on poetry, encouraging creativity in local children. Zena also has a keen interest in politics. She edits an online politics journal focusing on conflict in the Middle East, writes freelance for professional politics publications, performs TEDx talks on the rights of women in the Middle East and has secured a scholarship to study for her Masters programme at Harvard University in the Autumn.

   

 Sarah Chen

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Sarah graduated from the Department of Engineering on Tuesday 14th July 2015.

Sarah has been an active ambassador in encouraging female students to study STEM subjects, that is Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, and has also worked to facilitate entrepreneurship by women in developing countries. She takes part in outreach work in local schools through the Engineers Without Borders and Warwick Engineering Society, and was recruited to the team within the Engineering department to help ensure delivery of the Athena SWAN agenda. Sarah has also been involved with Warwick in Africa and Warwick in India, has taken part in various local volunteering projects in the community, was a 2012 Coventry Ambassador for the London Olympic Games, served on her Staff Student Liaison Committee, was a ‘buddy’ for Erasmus students in her department and held Exec positions in multiple students societies during her five years at Warwick.

   

Stefan van der Fluit

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Stefan graduated from Warwick Business School on Wednesday 15th July 2015.

Stefan has demonstrated an exceptional enthusiasm for entrepreneurship, having cofounded several start-ups whilst at Warwick. He has helped and encouraged many students to start their own businesses, always making time to meet with those who seek his advice. He has been a key driver behind initiatives such as the growth of Warwick Incubator, the setup of Warwick’s fast growing student society, Warwick TECH and the establishment of ‘Campus Startup’ – aiming to give a group of students with entrepreneurial passion a place to meet and share ideas. He has delivered guest talks at various universities and conferences to share his experiences and knowledge, and has delivered a TEDx talk on Conscious Entrepreneurship – business not only for profit but also for the benefit of others. Stefan is currently focused on Nuklius, a start-up cofounded with a fellow student in June 2014. Nuklius helps budding entrepreneurs to build their teams, matching ideas to people and skills needed to help make them into realities.

   

Ibtehal Attaelmanan

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Ibtehal graduated from the Department of Life Sciences on Friday 17th July 2015.

Ibtehal established ‘Project Sudan’, a research-based initiative looking to work with rural communities in Sudan. She has established an international volunteer network, and this summer will be going live with the first project. She was awarded funding from Barclays Bank under its Promising Students initiative, and will go out to a village on the bank of the River Nile, working to repair the school which faces seasonal damage from floods, equipping it against further flood damage. She will also run an education camp, delivering daily English classes to 240 primary school aged children alongside extra-curricular events. Ibtehal has also been involved with Warwick Marrow as its Vice President, delivering presentations on the subject and serving as a donor councillor. She has played a key role in marketing the cause, increasing recruitment of ethnic minority donors, for which patients have greater difficulty in finding a match. She also served as Head of Talks for the Warwick Development Summit, bringing in some of the biggest international names that Warwick has ever hosted through developing relationships with local charities, NGOs and multilateral organisations such as the UN and the World Bank.

   

Alex Clark

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Alex graduated from the Department of Economics on Saturday 18th July 2015.

Alex, in his second year of study, coordinated one of the biggest UK TEDx events, bringing together innovative and interesting speakers from around the world to discuss their pioneering ideas and work, ranging from nanotechnology to South-African development and genomes. The event was a complete sell-out, following a year of building relationships and leading on a number of smaller scale projects with Warwick Business School, IGGY and Warwick in Africa, whilst also finding the time to engage with local schools to encourage their participation. Alex was an active participant in Warwick in Africa in his first year, raising £500 for the project and travelling out during the summer break to teach mathematics to children. Alex then went on to run a marathon to raise a further £800 for the project, allowing other students to go over and follow in his footsteps and continue the excellent work going on out there. Alex has also been involved as president of the Spanish Society, was an SSLC representative for his course, coordinated the talks at Warwick Climate Forum in his final year, competed in Battle of the Bands and was a member of the Warwick Welcome Service.

Alex was selected for a Benefactors OSCA, which has been generously funded by donations from the University’s supporters.

   

Henry Wellbelove

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Henry, from the Department of Modern Languages has deferred his graduation to January 2016.

Henry has always been a diligent and curious student with a lively sense of enquiry, but showed his true strength of character in the face of unexpected tragedy, when his younger brother was killed in a road accident. Far from allowing this to affect his studies, his self-discipline and courage inspired him to continue and complete his degree. Alongside this, he raised a huge £25,000 for a charity which provides help and counselling for the victims of road accidents and their grieving family and friends right across the UK - proof of his outstanding motivation and dedication to the cause.

   

Liam Lewis

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Liam is a Postgraduate student in the Department of Modern Languages and will graduate in January 2016.

Liam has been very active within his department both during his undergraduate degree and throughout his Masters, earning himself a prestigious Wolfson PhD scholarship to continue his studies next year. He has been a key part of the 'Medievalists at Warwick' group, helping to increase the frequency of their meetings from termly to almost weekly, helping with the practicalities of the Medieval Seminar Series and creating and leading the student project, 'Medieval Song at Warwick', bringing together students from across disciplines to perform some medieval crusade lyrics at a number of events during term 3 and running workshops for first-year undergraduates. Liam was funded last summer through IATL to attend the New Chaucer Society conference in Iceland, and this year will be chairing a panel and submitting a paper to the conference. Liam also contributes considerably to the wider community, both within and outside of Warwick. He is a member of the Yoga society and teaches lessons on campus, he has been part of OperaWarwick as choreographer and lead dancer in Hansel and Gretel, and he volunteers with youth theatre, recently taking part in a fundraiser to enable people with mental health difficulties to attend the shows. He is also heavily involved with the Huntington's Disease Youth Organisation, putting his degree work into practice as their Translations Coordinator and raising awareness of the disease in the University and the local area. Liam has also been a part of Warwick Welcome Service, and has volunteered locally in schools to promote the opportunity of university to underprivileged young people.