Page 15 - Future Leaders 2018-2019

CHINAZA ONYECHI, 22 VICTOR OVENSEHI, 21 Arts

School: University of School: London School of
Southampton Economics
Course: History (BA) Course: Geography (BA)
Year: Graduated Year: Second
Grade: 2:1 Grade average: 2:1

In 2017, Chinaza produced a As goalie for the LSE men’s football
documentary about mental health at university. Titled: team, Victor turns out for matches every Wednesday and
‘Me Myself My Mind’ it was released on YouTube and Saturday. “It’s a tough balance between workload, uni life
also screened at universitiesthe University of East Anglia and sports but it’s about commitment,” he says. The team
and Brunel as part of events to raise awareness on recently won the Saturday inter-university league.
mental health. The film was instrumental in her winning He is currently financial sponsorship officer for the LSE
a TEDxPeckham 2017 Scholarship award of £2,000. She Nigerian Society. So far he has raised more than £3000 from
decided to put the money towards her creative freelance firms including Indomie and Deloitte. Victor was also heavily
work, officially launching Daughter House (DH) - a creative involved in the society’s flagship State of Nigeria conference.
media production company which promotes and collaborate After getting better A Levels than he had expected, he took a
with female creatives from BAME backgrounds. gap year to revise his plans: “I was going to do economics but
In January, she released an online campaign called I felt I had been pushed towards it when my heart lay with
#CapMyCreative. Here, she interviewed female creatives geography. “I feel like African parents push their children into
to explore the ways in which they have capitalised on STEM subjects because they are more reliable.”
their creativity, and how they have felt capped (limited) in During his year out, he worked for a charity, City Year UK,
pursuing their creative interests. which focusses on inner city London kids. He worked with 15
During her second year of university, she became the creative failing year 11 boys, and was charged with helping them to
director of a Christian fellowship society on campus. This get five GCSEs at grade C. 12 of them achieved that goal. He
meant overseeing the creative teams (drama, dance, poetry, also ran the school breakfast club and hosted classes, all for
media, and art), running weekly rehearsals, and organising £20 a day, while working for a regular income at Chelsea FC.
showcases.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? In a job I enjoy in trade finance but also a pioneer in some
I’d like DH to be established and to have a studio where form of social mobility movement or mentorship scheme.
women can train and explore their creativity.

KAOZARA TAIWO AVA
OYALOWO, 22 OYEBOLA, 20

School: University of Leeds School: University of Oxford
Course: Arabic and Course: Literae Humaniores
International Business (BA) (Classics II) (BA)
Year: Third (of four) Year: Second
Grade average: 2:1 Grade average: N/A

In 2018, as president of Leeds University Union (LUU) As president of Oxford ACS, Taiwo oversees a wide range of
Spoken Word Society, Kaozara led the society to Unislam, events and initiatives, as well as a team of senior officers.
an inter-university spoken word competition. They placed She stood on a platform to “grow and cement” the
fifth out of 23 universities and were chosen for the CUPSI community. “I wanted people to know the initiatives aren’t
prize – an opportunity for them to represent their university just one-offs.”
and the UK in America. They recently won the Bloomberg/The Tab Diversity Award
Kaozara is creator of POETIVITY, a creative outlet to for the university society best promoting BAME initiatives
showcase the lives of poets, writers and storytellers. and community. Events have included screenings of Black
She does this by inviting artists to share their stories Panther and a talk from writer and filmmaker Biyi Bandele.
and experiences of writing, over a cup of coffee. Taiwo is People of Colour and Racial Equalities [POCRE]
Audio transcriptions of the interview and photos officer for Wadham College, having organised the annual
are then shared via Instagram and Facebook. race symposium this spring and staged events on topics such
As the course rep for Arabic joint honours students, she as race and class in connection with Grenfell Tower, inviting
represents the student body by feeding back any concerns to a Ladbroke Grove poet and other campaigners to speak.
tutors and module leaders. She is currently working with the She is also co-founder of Oxford BAME Drama Society.
LUU Student Engagement Coordinator to create a survey on They aim to stage an all-BAME production of Medea, and to
people’s experiences of the programme, an idea that came run audition workshops to encourage more students to go
about after reflecting on her own experiences. for mainstream Oxford drama roles.
Of her life values, Kaozara says, “I put God first, I live life The first pupil from her school to go to Oxbridge, she says,
freely with no regrets and I consistently work hard.” “I want to let other people know they can do it too.”

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
With my own publishing company which showcases Leading my own BAME imprint within a publishing firm,
black authors. and encouraging people to write.

10 ANNIVERSARY EDITION FUTURE LEADERS 13
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