Nathan Pelaelo – n.pelaelo@uea.ac.uk

I am Motswana, born and raised. I was born into a very mixed family and an equally wholesome and culturally diverse community. Experiencing and/or witnessing any form of racial inequality, be it the ‘soft’ and ‘subtle’ or more blatant and aggressive racism, came a massive shock to me once I had grown out of the protective shell provided by my previous environment. This in turn meant that I was exposed to the bias and inequality a little later than most of my colleagues, albeit still at a tender age.

Why did you apply for the role?

I have since made it a personal mission to learn as much as possible about the impacts of racial bias and, to the best of my ability, mitigate them in any community I become a part of. The role of Student of Colour Ambassador for UEA’s School of Computing Sciences stood out as the prefect opportunity to do exactly that!

What will you be working on?

I will be planning and hosting a multitude of events I hope will give students of colour the sense of belonging they deserve and minimise the disparity that exists between the minorities within our community, thus providing them with a support system I believe will allow them to fully exert themselves during their tenure at UEA.

What are you looking forward to over the year?

I look forward to providing as much support as possible to all students of colour, either directly or indirectly, as well as working with all relevant departments to adjust any dated policies and implement new ways to further minimise the racial education gap