Making a difference

What an incredible difference one year can make. One of the most important decisions for me in 2015 was quiting my promising job for full time a social work degree. It has been a wonderful journey.

Celebrating Nyarai

While it has not been plain sailing, I have had the privilege of meeting some amazing students and staff at UCLan who have helped to shape my experience.

Meet The Amazing UCLan SU President, Sana Iqbal

Meet The Amazing Sana Iqbal

I had an opportunity to interview Sana Iqbal, the current Student Union President of the University of Central Lancashire, and it was remarkable!



I remember our initial meeting at the welcome lobby of Greenbank lecture theater during the pre-event meet and greet of UCLan Entrepreneurial Society. A few months later, her name came up as one of the candidates for SU Presidency, I knew she could win because of her brilliance and endearing personality. What better time to publish the excerpt from the interview than today as she celebrates her 24th birthday.



Lanre: Kindly introduce yourself please.
Sana: Hi, my name is Sana, I am from Manchester. I studied Pharmacy here for four years and recently graduated. I also ran to become SU President and won and now I am here.



Lanre: At what point did you decide to run for the SU Presidency?
Sana: It wasn’t a decision I made in one day. I thought about it for days and even months, some people also spoke to me about it and I eventually just went for it.

Lanre: Was there anyone in particular who inspired you?
Sana: I got a lot of support from Josie Linsel, the outgoing SU president, she inspired me by the way she performed and the amazing things she did during her time. Gareth Pye (Director of Engagement & Support, UCLan) was someone who also helped me get here by encouraging me to get involved in student politics right from my second year at the university.



Lanre: Would you consider mainstream politics when you leave the university?
Sana: (Laughs) No, definitely not. I have other career aspirations and politics isn’t one of them.

Lanre: What advice would you give to Blacks and Minority Ethnics (BME) students/graduates in the UK?
Sana: Seize every opportunity possible. It is easy to be complacent and to get stuck in your comfort zone and wanting to stick with your own group of friends. But, it is very important to break out of that. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be in the position I am now. Our University and the Student Union pride ourselves in our diversity but it all depend to students getting involved.



Lanre: If you can send a message to your younger self, what would it be?
Sana: (Laughs) my younger self, oh gosh! I would say, believe in yourself, be a lot more confident, and believe you can do this.

Lanre: It has been nice interviewing you. Thank you very much
Sana: My pleasure

Follow the link below to listen to the full audio interview:

DIVERSITY POD INTERVIEWS SANA IQBAL

How Volunteering Saved My Life

At different stages and places I have found myself, volunteering has proven to be a potent source of inspiration and opportunities to accomplish great things. I guess one could say that volunteering is freely offering one’s skills, talents, time or just taking off your gloves and getting involved with an organisation or a project without expecting payment.

I traced back my volunteering journey to when as a young adult I volunteered with the youth wing of my then church. Attractive visuals and “fresh” outlook always make an impression on me, and I recall helping to refresh the look of the meeting space every weekend and the invigorating impact it had on the young people.

One of my most memorable experience with this group was when we decided to carry out a social action project from zero budget. A bunch of mostly high school teenagers led by an unemployed high school leaver. Out of all the suggested projects, we managed to settle for the hardest to achieve: Revamp a disused library of a local high school in the community.

And just in case you are probably wondering how we got on, well here is what we did:

1. We washed every church member’s car on a Sunday for donations.
2. We used the donations to design and print Easter greeting cards that we sold to members, family and friends.

3. We then used the funds to pay a decorator, an electrician and a woodwork man for repairs at the library while we did the hard labour of cleaning and removing unwanted items from the room. We recreated the space good enough for students to go in and read and that was joyful.

4. We even had time to share our faith with the students at the end of the week.

I know I am making a case for volunteering and you may want to ask how volunteering saved me, I wasn’t actually dying in the real sense of it, but as a young person who had somehow lost zest and motivation, this volunteering experience as well as many others I undertook, steered me in the path of renewed commitment to my Christian faith and a firm believe that I can make a positive difference in my life and that of others.

Lanre Olabode