The Winners!
Race Equality Award - Students who are working to help racialised members of the University and have been involved in the fight against racism at Oxford.
Gloria Ngaiza: Gloria was the Vice-President of the Black Student Society (BSS) last year and now the President and GCR Black Student Co-Rep at Green Templeton College (GTC). In her roles, Gloria passionately dedicated her time to organising events that promote inclusion and diversity among Black students and the wider college and university community, such as the Black History Month celebration in October, Diversity Dinner, monthly Black student socials, movie nights and the Uncomfortable Oxford tour for students. Furthermore, she is leading the launching of a GTC Black Students Journal to document the rich history and culture of black students, alumni and academics in Oxford.
Student Voice Award - Students who have amplified the students’ views and priorities through representation and campaigning on behalf of their peers.
Abdulazeez Imam and David Cruz Walma: Abdulazeez and David are representatives in the Nuffield Department of Medicine Graduate Studies Committee, which oversees graduate studies for over 500 students. Abdulazeez and David developed a cost-of-living survey and canvassed the student body for insight on the challenges of meeting living expenses, resulting in tangible changes from university leadership, including an 11% increase in the NDM scholarship award.
Paving the Way Award - Students who have been innovative or original in their approach to activism, campaign and student representation, or who have achieved outstanding results from their efforts.
Tori Ford: Tori is a feminist health researcher completing a DPhil in Primary Care Health Sciences. She created Medical Herstory as a platform to change the future of medicine through storytelling. Medical Herstory is an award-winning not-for-profit on a mission to eliminate sexism, shame, and stigma from health experiences. They have launched programmes to advance gender health equity through medical education, patient advocacy, and undoing social stigma. Tori launched the Gender Health Equity Collective with Green Templeton College to bring together researchers and advocates across Oxford working on gender equity. Tori is an outspoken advocate whose work has been featured in Cosmopolitan UK, Hunger Magazine, and by UNWomen.
Sustainability Award - Students who have made an exceptional contribution towards efforts to make their college and University environment sustainable.
Tiffany Walmsley: Tiffany co-runs the Jesus College's Gardening Club and was the 2022-2023 Environmental Representative of the Jesus MCR. Tiffany lobbied Jesus College to make divesting in fossil fuels a priority, which they have now committed to; successfully bid for Jesus College to fund a supply of sustainable period products; and championed a motion to set up a reimbursement scheme for other sustainable period products not provided by Jesus College.
Welfare Award - Students who are helping to make Oxford a kinder and safer space when it comes to wellbeing and mental health.
Daniele Cotton: Dan has worked incredibly hard to improve the student experience at Oxford. He is extremely active in student welfare, having been the GCR Welfare Officer and Peer Support Coordinator at GTC, but has gone above and beyond by starting several new initiatives across the college. For example, he created new contact cards for all college members that have emergency contacts and student welfare contacts to make it easier for students to find support and reduce barriers to accessing welfare. He also made a new welfare items request service to make it easier for students to freely and discretely access feminine hygiene products, contraception and pregnancy tests
Increasing Access Award - Students who have contributed to access and outreach work at Oxford and made the University a more inclusive place to study.
Holly Cobb: Holly is a member of the Somerville JCR and a Charity Ambassador. She has been involved with some of the first inter-college events for young carers and worked alongside Somerville's Access and Inreach Officer to support young careers throughout the university.
Volunteer Award - Students who have put time and effort into volunteering and showing their peers the value of this work.
Gabriele Paone: Gabriele is a DPhil student in Anthropology, and a dedicated volunteer who is committed to making a difference in the lives of disadvantaged children. His research focuses on the hidden talents of children growing up in harsh environments. Besides researching, Gabriele has been dedicated to volunteering in these communities for almost 2 years. He accompanied children to and from school, assisted their parents with a bureaucracy they couldn’t navigate, and provided them with much-needed clothes and food. He has used the hidden talents he discovered to tailor his education approach for the children he taught, resulting in increased engagement and more effective learning.
College Community Award - Students who have made their college a better space for their students.
Dixa Thakrar: Dixa single-handedly took charge of our Diwali formal and when she realised that the College had not properly advertised the event to its students of an Indian origin, who were noticeably upset by this. She lobbied the Domestic Bursar to change the invitation policies to ensure that everyone who wanted to attend the Formal could come. She sang devotional songs at the event and spoke a few words about the importance and significance of the event for everyone and truly made it an inclusive and enjoyable event.
Congratulations to everyone who won, was shortlisted and nominated for this year's Student Awards!