Page 7 - Future Leaders Magazine

FOREWORD

2017-18

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SECONDARY SPONSOR

OXFORD UNIVERSITY

xford University is very proud to continue sponsoring Future Leaders
magazine, now in its ninth edition. We are committed to working with
O outstanding African and African Caribbean students, and hope that many
of you will be inspired to apply to Oxford.

The stories in this magazine are certainly inspirational. You will read about students who have excelled
in all areas of their lives, from studies and work experience, to community and charity work, and in their
clubs and societies. These students will be some of the future leaders in our communities and businesses,
in law and medicine and government. Many of them have overcome difficult circumstances in working
towards their considerable academic achievements.
This isn’t always what people expect of students from BME communities. When Stormzy spoke at an
Oxford University event in July, he said: ‘I think it’s easy for the public to look at footballers, rappers and
entertainers and see us as the epitome of black excellence, but I feel that it’s actually you guys [students].
At the end of uni, you lot are becoming the doctors and lawyers, the medical scientists.’
This message is echoed by students in our African and Caribbean Society: your experiences as black
students are strengths to be celebrated and leveraged, not weaknesses to be diluted and dismissed.
Oxford doesn’t want all its students to be the same: we need different perspectives, and we welcome and
celebrate diversity. One of the advantages of the Oxford education system is that we teach students in
tutorials: two or three students meet with an expert tutor. You will discuss your essays or solutions to
scientific problems in these small groups. The aim is to review your answers and theories, and explore the
different ideas that arise in discussion. We want students with different perspectives who can engage in these
debates. You don’t need to be experienced in debating – just ready to present and defend your opinions,
accept constructive criticism and listen to others.
To find out more about Oxford please see pages 50-51, and read about our students Princess Ashilokun,
Fabian Fatodu, Renee Kapuku, Elizabeth Oladunni and Fiona Asiedu on pages 9, 10, 52 and 53. You might
also like to come to an open day or one of our other outreach events. These include UNIQ, a programme
of free summer schools, and the Annual Access Conference delivered in partnership with our African and
Caribbean Society. Please contact us for more information.
Congratulations again to all this year’s 100 Future Leaders. I look forward to seeing more top black students
in Oxford, and in future editions of this magazine.

DR SAMINA KHAN
DIRECTOR OF UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS AND OUTREACH
OXFORD UNIVERSITY

2017-18 | FUTURE LEADERS 5