The Student Social Mobility Awards (SSMAs), organised by upReach, celebrate the achievements of undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds from across the UK.
The SSMAs recognise students who have excelled in their studies and beyond, and have demonstrated great resilience, determination or initiative, or boosted their employability in innovative ways.
Filipe Costa Figueiredo is a 4th year joint Honours Politics and Spanish BA and has been shortlisted for two awards:
- Undergraduate Awards: Academic Success for those who have achieved the most impressive academic feats whilst at university, breaking through barriers in the process
- Undergraduate Sector Award: Professional Services and Consulting which recognised outstanding achievement in specific career sectors while at University.
We chatted to Filipe (pictured below) about why he thinks he was nominated and why social mobility is important.
“I think I was nominated for the undergraduate academic award for two main reasons. Firstly, the improvement seen in my grades during my final year of my undergraduate (achieving high 2:1s and 1sts).
Additionally, I believe that my volunteering with local organisations, communities, and other extracurricular opportunities alongside my academic achievements also helped the shortlisting of my nomination.
For the consulting career-specific nomination, I think I was nominated for my drive and participation in consulting events and applications in the hopes of securing a role in the consultancy industry, including as a volunteer consultant in the Social Innovation Programme (by Bristol Hub and Burges Salmon) to help the charity Young Bristol and participating in McKinsey’s Solve It UK competition in their London office.
These nominations show that hard work does get recognised, even if you face additional barriers to reaching these goals. As a first-generation student from a disadvantaged area, there was a lack of role models who studied at university and/or worked a white-collar job, especially in professional services and consultancy.
I hope these nominations inspire other students from underserved backgrounds to dream big, work hard, and believe they can achieve whatever it is they put their mind and efforts to.
I believe the SSMAs are an opportunity to celebrate all our achievements, perseverance, and hard work despite the socioeconomic challenges we may have faced.
I want to thank my Programme Coordinator (PC) from upReach, Sawda Chowdhury, for all the support she has given me and others at the university as UpReach associates! Without my PC’s support and the resources available at UpReach, these achievements would have not been possible!
The Careers Service also received a few nominations:
Our Futures Scholarships Coordinator, Laura Frude (pictured below) has been shortlisted for the Social Mobility Champion Award.
Filipe, who was one of the many students who nominated Laura, said “Laura is passionate about social mobility and has always ensured that she is an advocate for students at UoB, notably with her involvement as the coordinator of the University’s Futures Scholarship programme.
The meet-ups at the Careers Service with Laura have been vital when helping me with any concerns about which career to pursue, volunteering during my studies, and how to make the most out of my time at university.”
Laura said, “To be nominated for my work on the Futures Scholarship Programme is a real privilege and I am grateful to all the students and staff who have supported me”.
Our Bristol Mentors programme, run in partnership with the University’s Alumni team, has been shortlisted for the University Progression Initiative of the Year Award.
Robbie said: “Bristol Mentors has been such a rich and rewarding programme to be a part of. Being nominated for this award is a lovely acknowledgement of the effort we’ve made to get more students and more mentors involved over recent years. Thank you so much to our Bristol alumni mentors who have committed so much time and enthusiasm.”
Filipe was a Bristol Mentors mentee and said:
“These sessions have been incredibly useful! I have been able to discuss why I wish to pursue a career in consultancy with a consultant that studied at Bristol, Michael Natzler. I am incredibly grateful for Michael’s support, for his tips and advice on how his working life as a consultant and how to enter consultancy.”
Filipe went on to say “The Careers Service has helped me from the start of my degree. The staff at the Careers Service have always been friendly, helpful, and kind. There is a wide range of resources available with the Careers Service, both online and in-person. I have personally benefitted from the guidance received from the CV reviews, mock interviews, and career talks and events held.”
The Student Social Mobility Award winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday 13 July.
Good luck to Filipe, as well as 1st year Mechanical Engineering student, Ellie Allerton-Brown, who has been shortlisted for the Academic Success for Science and Engineering Award (and, of course, our Careers Service nominees!).
We have our fingers and toes crossed for you!