Blogging My Way Through Uni

So I turned 22 over the Easter break! Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes. It has been a relatively quiet month with the exam season fast approaching and the last term of university poking around the corner. However, this month has had its perks...

📢 Progress w/ Scholarship Campaign 📢

As well as branching out to tackle the broader issues faced by migrants in the UK, the Let Us Learn Campaign is making great progress with our main mission which is making access to higher education an equal opportunity to all young people in the country.

We have made great progress in terms on getting London universities on board by opening up new scholarship schemes as UCL already have. Recently, a meeting was held with the student union here at Imperial College London who seem keen to take things forward. Nottingham Trent, Leeds, Northampton, Sheffield Hallam and Huddersfield have also been contacted as we look to spread out influence outside of London.

🔬 The Crick Institute 🔬

 The Crick Institute is a hub for biomedical research made up of researchers from UCL, Imperial and the Medical Research Council. I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the 36 interviewees out of around 400 applicants for a summer placement at the Crick Institute. Unfortunately, I didn't make it past the final interviews that day but it was an insightful opportunity, it was also an honour to interact with the researchers there for the day. 

Most of the month has been spent with family and friends as well as revising for the exam season ahead. I hope you are all enjoying the bank holiday and best of luck to all those with exams coming up in the following months!

P.S. My TEDxEastEnd Talk has uploaded on youtube now. Enjoy!

I turned 21 this month! I have to say its been one of the best birthday months I've had so far - and thats saying something. But I am sure that after you read this month's blog you will agree with me. Ill give you three reasons why this has been a month to remember...

I met Obama!

Thanks to the AMOS Bursary and their relationship with the US Embassy, I was lucky enough to be asked to attend a 'Town Hall' with the president on his visit to the UK. Waking up at 5:30 AM on a cold Saturday and waiting for what seemed like an eternity in a line before entering a building has never been so worth it!

It took me a few days for everything to properly sink in. But I was in the same room as Obama, one of the greatest men to ever walk the planet. This was apparent when he walked in the room... silence. Ears perked up, postures straightened and notebooks at the ready. His presence commanded respect and admiration from from everyone in the room. Logic and reason underpinned all his answers to the questions posed by the lucky few in the room.

The greatest take home message that day was the importance of the day was to learn from the past and to understand the fact that change takes time and that this should dishearten those looking to bring about change.

"The arch of history of history is long but it bends towards justice", Obama said, quoting MLK Jr.

The London Mayoral Assembly

I am aware that this month has been quite politically charged, I make no apologies for that! I have never been as proud to be a Let Us Learn campaigner as I was this month.

100 people turned up to the representing Let Us Learn at the Copperbox in the Olympic village. A total of 6,000 people turned up to hold the front-running mayoral candidates, Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith, to account on their promises to the capital once they become mayor. The event was hosted by CitizensUK.

Let Us Learn was represented by Ijeoma whose story received roars from the crowd! I was so proud to see all the hard work we do with the campaign being recognised by 6,000 active campaigners from across the city. You can have a look at the event in its entirety below (Ijeoma's speech starts at around 1:57:00).

Back in the Labs!

The last term of uni has started and we are back in the labs! This is exciting as we are researching how to manipulate the properties of alginate membranes for commercial applications.

The chemistry behind these alginate membranes is the same that drives the production of fake caviar. We are working with a company called Skipping Rocks Labs on their Ooho! Project which aims to encapsulate water in these membranes to reduce the usage of plastic bottles.

Ooho capsules are totally edible and biodegradable. Our work in the labs will inform the company in changing desirable characteristics in the membranes to make them better suited for commercial use. The ingredients for making the capsules are available online and are very safe to handle.

How to make an Ooho capsule

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog! Have a good month this May and lets pray we get some good weather *fingers crossed*