BIO SOCAs!

Hi from Serena and Kaainat! In semester one, biological society, biochemical society, pride in biology and BAME in BIO collaboratively held a successful meet and greet with a turnout of approximately forty people. There was food and badge making to offer a more relaxed environment in which BIO students can converse and feel comfortable. Additionally we held a black history month event in the atrium of the new science building which again, was a great success with a turnout of 50+ people. There was a fantastic cake to highlight the month as well as an informative slide show presentation to feature some of the black pioneers in science. This semester we hope to achieve even more student engagement through the better use of our social media such as Instagram which everyone should give a follow! – ueabameinbio. We also hope to make a difference within the actual curriculum by introducing our decolonising the curriculum workshop into the skills for biologists/chemists.

HSC SOCA!

Hi! This is your HSC Student of Colour Ambassador, Kody. For the first semester of being an ambassador, I have organized a Meet and Greet: Pizza and Quiz night for our fellow schoolmates to have a bit of fun while enjoying the scrumptious food provided. Monthly BAME meeting has also been taking place with interested lecturers to brainstorm potential events to be held in the future and update each other about the School’s learning atmosphere. HSC First Get-together in 2023 in January marks the end of the first semester’s event. It was a successful night with multiple students attending to discuss about their course, reflection of first semester and future ambition. Several ideas concerning future events to be held were also suggested by the participants. They pointed out that it was a great way to socialize and mingle in this way especially amazing hot food and drinks were arranged as well.

For the coming semester, I would endeavor to feedback students’ opinion to related authority as usual and organize events that would match with students’ preferences and hopefully foster more meaningful connection in HSC! Please continue to support us and wish everyone an amazing year ahead!

LAW SOCA!

Hello from Sharia! My role as a Student of Colour Ambassador has been quite eventful so far. I have been able to learn a lot through various training sessions and workshops. The most interesting was the Mental Health Awareness workshop I attended in November last year. Not only was it insightful but it enabled me to gain a deeper understanding for how important it is to prioritise mental health. This newfound understanding will equip me further in my role to better support other students in my School.

I was also fortunate to host my first in-person event for the Law students - a meet and greet and quiz night. The experience provided me with important skills that come with organising events, such as how to plan different activities, create a visually appealing poster and distributing it amongst various channels, finding a suitable venue etc. The event ended up being quite fun and enjoyable, as everyone was able to kick into their competitive spirits to win different rounds of the interactive quiz.

This semester, I aim to hold another event, hopefully with more attendants, so I can connect with more students of colour within the Law School as well as across the University community by collaborating with SOCAs from other Schools. I’m really hoping that by continuing to engage with the SOCA Scheme, students of colour are provided with a safe and open platform to be heard and feel empowered.

CMP SOCA!

Hello from Thara! My first semester as the Student of Color Ambassador for the Computer Science Department was an eye-opener and a truly enriching experience. I got the opportunity to educate myself on the multiple factors that are contributing to the degree gap between students of color and others. My primary motive was to create a safe space for the members of the community to share their thoughts, concerns, and opinions, and the “Meet and Greet” I organized along with my fellow SOCA Nathan provided me a platform for the same. It saw the culmination of students of different age groups, nationalities, and cultures coming together for a common cause, that of equal rights and recognition, and discussing the barriers that stop us from attaining this goal

I also got the chance to meet my SOCA Academic Lead, who gave me valuable insights on the issues I could address over the coming semesters and the areas I should research to find a course of action. As part of this, I will be interacting with Kainaat and Serena, the SOCAs of the Biology department, who have been in the position for the past few years, so I get a better understanding of the concerns I need to address and implement long term solutions. This semester, I will be focusing specifically on bridging the degree gap in the computer science department and addressing this issue at the grass root level. Furthermore, I also want to implement programs to hone the career-attaining skills of students of color. 

I also hope to plant the seeds toward establishing a regular channel of communication solely for the students of color in the department, that carries forward from the previously organized “Meet and Greet”. Furthermore, I will make sure underrepresented groups within the community also get equal representation, in the events and initiatives organized over the course of the semester. Here’s wishing everyone a great semester and a wonderful year ahead!

Greetings everyone!

My name is Nathan, and I am the current undergraduate student of colour ambassador for the school of computing science (CMP). I would like to begin by thanking everyone that attended the ‘Meet and Greet’ event that my fellow CMP SoCA, Thara, and I held last semester. The purpose of the event was to provide a more casual setting to introduce ourselves, share prospects, get CMP students to interact and get to know each other better. You also took this as an opportunity to notify us of any problems you had come across, thus giving us further insight into the multitude of issues faced by students of colour. Once again, thank you for participating in all the mini-games and activities thus making the event a success!

I spent the remainder of the semester finding solutions to any matters I could handle directly and/or finding suitable workarounds, such as ensuring the hub made the necessary adjustments to accommodate 1st year students that had completed a different curriculum and not covered certain specific subjects. I got the chance to meet with my SoCA Academic Lead to discuss the issues that may be present throughout the school as well as other further discuss the areas I look to address during my stint as SoCA.

Please feel free to contact me at any point if you have any concerns. [n.pelaelo@uea.ac.uk]

DEV SOCAs!

Hi everyone and happy new year!

I'm Kyra and I'm one of the Students of Colour Ambassadors for the school of International Development. At the beginning of the semester, we organised a Meet and Greet for DEV students of colour. This involved us having a turnout of more than 40 students of colour, and organising a quiz night alongside pizza and refreshments. It was nice to see everyone enjoy our first event and get to know other students of colour in DEV. Next, we organised an open event titled 'Empowerment in Norfolk.' During the event, we had guest speakers from people of colour, including Danny Keen, a Jamaican-born artist, Jose Ferrera, a salsa dance teacher, and Emir Ghariani, a recent graduate from UEA. We held a range of interesting conversations including the Windrush generation and decolonialising museums. Additionally, during the event, we enjoyed a mini salsa dance session from Jose and Caribbean catering from Jamoroc.

At the end of the semester, we organised a small event at the Bowling House for some great food and two rounds of bowling. It was nice to get the chance to talk to more students of colour. Lastly, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who supported and attended our events during the first semester, and we're always here to hear your suggestions and concerns about your DEV course or university life. We can't wait to reveal more events for the next coming semesters!

Hello again everyone! I’m Busra and as a DEV Student of Colour Ambassador, we want to say thank you to all those that attended our events last semester. First, we organised a Meet & Greet: Pizza and Quiz night for DEV students which so many of you took part in. It was lovely to see everyone get involved in the quiz and then mingling and talking to each other. Then we held a Black History Month event open to everyone titled Empowerment in Norfolk. For this, we invited black artists and student of colour alumni to give talks on a range of topics related to ethnic histories. We’re very glad that everyone enjoyed the Salsa dancing and Jamaican catering that we organised for you. After these two big events, lastly to encourage socialisation and conversation we organised a Dine and Bowl where we headed to the Bowling House for some lovely food and 2 rounds of bowling. I really enjoyed meeting everyone at all these events and I’m looking forward to getting the chance to talk to more of you this semester. Wishing everyone the best of luck with their exams and/or assignments. Don’t forget that we are always here to talk to if you have any concerns or queries about your DEV course or university life in general!