Zainab

Being fascinated by different political perspectives held by children and finding a middle ground through constructive debate I joined a debate mentoring team. The various cases I dealt with helped me realise that effective communication is dependent on considering and adapting to situations and audiences. I had to deal with several obstacles like difficult debaters. This taught me how to break down communication barriers and empathise with many views. This led me to attend training on several children therapy methods which allowed me to expose myself to a variety of views which strengthened my interrelation skills. I also worked with foreign students to help them integrate into a new country as I have done myself. This helped me build on a horizon of skills ranging from empathy to organisation.
I have planned many events ranging from lectures to boat parties, campaigns from “Recycling to improve the school’s sustainability” to Setting up the “UWL YPL series” legacy.

I also carried out many courses to practice my leadership, such as: the CVQO course – ILM level 2 award in effective team membership and leadership skills in which I learned how to be a resilient leader and a tactical team member. I was also the team director in NCS which helped me build my self-confidence and wisdom . Moreover, I carried out a two-year sports leadership course which taught me creative problem solving as I had to deal with a variety of schedule changes and obstacles created by the youngsters I had to organise and co-ordinate. Also, as the head girl of my sixth form I set up study groups (Alliances) which boosted students ’ grades by 34% and organised events like virtual prom and valentines peer party. This gave me a lot of experience in using students’ voices to fuel changes enacted (we even got a kettle for the sixth-form common room, the little things matter).

I am a member of the vex robotics scheme which was funded $3000 by the royal society of science and $1000 by Vex engineering. I led my team to building a robot that helps you carry out your daily tasks and we programmed it to work via voice control. This has greatly improved my rigour in approaching problems as throughout all the stages of developing the robot my team and I faced many obstacles that we had to cleverly and quickly overcome (due to our one year deadline).
Physics Summer School at the Royal Holloway University, covering topics from the Mathematics of music to quantum mechanics, although some of my favourites have been those on the less exotic “puzzles”, which taught me a lot about thinking about problems creatively. This experience allowed me to discover areas of Physics I would not otherwise have encountered.

One of my achievements is carrying out the DofE gold level in which I carried out 2 years of volunteering with senior members suffering of dementia which taught me how to strategize and prioritise effectively to accomplish tasks and stay calm under pressure. Most importantly, this experience taught me how to be patient and be a better listener. I also carried out a 1 year course, as part of the award, in knitting which made me a conscientious self starter with a keen eye for detail. I also carried out a 1 year course in Ice skating which taught me how to be flexible and analytical as I had to create and adapt my choreography to different environments and events. Overall, I became a person who is highly organised and independent; able to effectively coordinate tasks to accomplish projects with timelessness and creativity.

Imperial Maker Challenge winner (built and programmed a stalker-bot) I had the opportunity to develop an idea and see it through to creation. With access to cutting edge technologies, I learned to use a range of making tools and techniques: such as 3D printers, laser cutter, scanners, traditional woodworking machinery, hand tools and craft materials.
I gained a range of skills from practical, hands-on use of equipment to a myriad of soft skills including product development, team-building, presenting and communicating. At the end of the programme there is a showcase of my project for the parents, teachers and families to engage with.

In my spare time, I practise ice skating as well as debating and have competed in various local competitions. As a volunteer, I am involved in a roller skating mentoring scheme, maths mentoring scheme. Moreover, I am an army cadet and have been a police cadet. I was also a pupil librarian, career representative and science ambassador for two years. Furthermore, I led my team to raising $600 in one week for a care home and many more. These activities helped me become a skilled communicator that is able to maintain cultural sensitivity due to the rapport that I had to establish with members of diverse groups. These also helped me promote team cohesiveness and helped me become highly organised and independent due to the uniformed routine I had to follow.

I enjoy travelling and will be going to Nicaragua for a month after my studies to help in a small village, explore the local jungles and volcanoes and practise my Spanish. I lived in Saudi Arabia from the ages of 3 to 10 and learnt to adapt to a new language and culture.
I very much look forward to exploring new challenges and opportunities with you.