Update: The Outstanding Award process closed after the 2020/21 academic year. Current students who have made an outstanding contribution to their PLUS Award activity may consider engaging with the Outstanding PLUS Award, which launched in the 2021/22 academic year.
Congratulations to the 22 students who achieved an Outstanding Award this year, with a special shout out to the 7 who achieved with distinction!
Achieving the Outstanding Award is a great success. It requires students demonstrate they have made a significant contribution to an extracurricular activity though a rigorous application and interview process – no small feat.
The selection process technique and breadth of activities showcased from students this year was truly Outstanding! Here are just a few of the highlights:
Brandon Man, Economics and Accounting (BSc) Year 2
“I founded Aspiring Interns, a national student-led social initiative which aims to bridge the gap between incoming university students and first-year internship opportunities in the highly competitive mainstream city professions through student-to-student mentoring.”
Freya Mutimer, Anthropology (BA), Year 3
“I co-founded the Sanctuary Scholarship Legal Fund. This is a fund in the University of Bristol’s Student Union which provides financial aid to students from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds when they do not qualify for legal aid. These students are known as Sanctuary Scholars and are vulnerable to study bans, as well as other legal fees relating to their asylum claim. Due to their scholarship they are disqualified from legal aid, this puts them in a situation of immense financial and emotional turmoil. I supported the set-up of this fund to support them and raise awareness about the issue.”
Lucy Mcgowan, Dynamic Molecular Cell Biology (PhD), Year 4
“I was City Coordinator for Pint of Science (PoS) in Bristol, a global non-profit organisation which brings local scientists into pubs to deliver engaging talks on their research to the public. I lead the PoS Festival in May 2019, whereby multiple events were delivered simultaneously to increase local engagement with a broad variety of STEM topics. I also organised and hosted unique collaborative events between PoS and other charitable organisations, such as Bristol Pride, We The Curious and the International Space School Educational Trust, to widen participation and accessibility to our events.”
Obafemi Alabi, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (BEng), Year 3
“I co-founded and was the Chief Operating Officer for a football league company called MOB Football, for university societies and teams to tackle the problem of racism and representation within football. I organised events in collaboration with the Bristol SU and BME Network for black history month to create more awareness of the problem of racism in football and engaged over ten university societies within the last two years to participate in the league.”
Sadie Karia, Dental Surgery (BDS), Year 5 
“As The Welfare Representative for University of Bristol Dental School Society (UBDSS), my main goal was to raise awareness about Mental Health & Wellbeing for both students and staff within Bristol Dental School.
My biggest success and Outstanding Award activity was pioneering the first “It’s Ok to Fail” Wellbeing Week, and in particular organising the first “Welfare Fair” within this. This week helped signpost people to available support, gave students and staff a chance to openly discuss Mental Health & Wellbeing and made students feel better understood and supported by the School.”