My personal motivations

I chose to pursue many of these voluntary positions because of my commitment to social impact. I strongly feel that fostering inclusion is a critical component of that change. Through both professional and personal experiences, I have witnessed the power of inclusion in creating environments where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute their unique perspective. This work allows me to actively participate in shaping a more equitable and just society.

The most rewarding parts of my work have been meeting incredible people and building networks across the charity sector and within lifesaving sport. My work with BULSCA has allowed me to drive institutional changes that promote diversity and accessibility. Seeing the positive impact of increased participation and more inclusive policies has been gratifying. Knowing I've contributed to fostering a supportive community and culture of acceptance makes this work deeply meaningful to me.

My top 3 tips for students

• My first tip would be to value all of the connections you make along the way and lean on this network when you need to.
• My second tip would be to stay organised so you can balance your academic work with these additional projects and responsibilities.
• ·My third, and main tip would be to try new things whilst you are at university you really never know where it will lead you. My work on the IATL-supported Critical Employment Literacy gave me the opportunity to be a researcher on a short project and I am now going to be working as a research officer for a national charity. This shows that you never know just how far an opportunity may take you or inspire you.

Support and recognition from Warwick

I have always found my tutors really supportive and genuinely interested in the work I was doing outside of my studies. I participated in the Warwick Award. This was a great way to collate all of the projects I had been involved in as well as reflecting on the skills I had gained from these experiences. I was therefore honoured to be nominated by my department for this OSCA award.

My highlights

My time at Warwick has been incredible and to pick just a couple of highlights is actually really hard! One highlight has to be representing Warwick at national lifesaving competitions across the three years I have been here and winning some medals along the way. More broadly, I will miss the buzz of the university campus and the opportunities and facilities we have available to us at Warwick. My time in the GSD department gave me a great opportunity to steer my degree to my interests and passions as well as to try new things. I will never forget donning the wellies and getting into the river in Tocil Woods to do my primary data collection in biodiversity in first year!