Talya Chambers

Hi!

My name is Talya and I'm a first year med student

As a state-school student I didn't feel underprivileged until I arrived at Imperial. I remember asking the people in my corridor what schools they went to and struggling to find anyone who had the same background as me. For the first time in my life I felt out of place due to my socioeconomic status.

It's because of experiences like these that I am passionate about improving the experiences of state school educated people at all level of education. So far I have done this by arranging free GCSE tutoring with volunteers for state school kids, and providing my own tutoring on a sliding scale to ensure it is accessible to all. I also have strong leadership and organisational skills which I have developed through my role as vice Head girl in school, and as diversity and inclusion lead in Badminton England's NYVF.

Going into the future, I would like to make a difference specifically within university, through arranging events for state school students to meet eachother and providing opportunities to develop connections and learn about careers.

Being state-educated has undoubtedly formed part of my identity due to the many unavoidable and slightly awkward experiences I've had due to it- it's for this reason that I hope to create an environment where others can meet people with the same background as them and not feel alone <3