Paddy McClintock 15/08/2022
Paddy ran the Swansea Iron Man Triathlon on the 7th August for Mind charity. Here's what he had to say about it:
'Mind is a charity which has recently become quite a big part of my life and something much closer to me after losing my best mate from school to suicide, and as a result led to me taking on the Swansea Ironman 70.3 in his name. Nearly 1 in 3 people will experience mental health issues throughout their lives, and that number just doesn’t sit right with me.'
So far Paddy has raised over £3000 for Mind.
Amaan Abbas
05/09/2022
Amaan has just started his role as the BLSA's Engagement Officer. In just the month he has taken over, Amaan has taken the BLSA's social media to a new level, including responding to countless incoming student FAQs and starting some fantastic social media schemes to improve communications. In this time, he has also singlehandedly designed the BLSA Guide, a student-led booklet distributed amongst all incoming BL Students.
Perhaps what makes this more impressive is that Amaan has completed all of this while being (on average) about 2000 miles from the Whitechapel Campus throughout August.
A true champion of everything that the BLSA stands for, we wish Amaan the best in his role on the BLSA this year.
Ali Larsen
13/09/2022
This weeks BL Champion is Ali Larsen (MBBS, Intercalating in Sports and Exercise Medicine), for pioneering the BL Sport Anti-Racism group following the Black Lives Matter movement earlier this year. Initially started in BL Netball in the wake of BLM, Ali then brought this initiative further to a BL wide level, championing allyship throughout the BL Sports Clubs with a wider BL Sports Anti-Racism forum. Through Ali's work, Anti-Racism remains at the forefront of the work that BL Sport's Clubs do on a wider scale, including addressing welfare concerns and wider access to sport.
Ali currently sits on the Club Sport Board (CSB), and we are excited to see what she does with the role this year!
Amelia Jones
26/09/2022
Amelia Jones (MBBS, intercalating in Global Public Health), who in their role of BL Welfare Officer managed to welcome over 300 new students with the BL Families scheme over freshers weekend Amelia paired hundreds of incoming BL students with likeminded parents using a spreadsheet that even the most excel-loving among us would fear, and even ran our adoption stall on the day for all those who didn't sign up initially.
Amelia on the same day welcomed our commuting students, and organised our non-alcoholic after-party to welcome every single one of our students. Hundreds of Freshers now feel so much more at home at BL because of their efforts, and we at the BLSA cannot thank them enough!
Jed Ashman
5/10/2022
Jed Ashman (MBBS Year 5), who was nominated by VP Health Mark Caulfield himself, after receiving a letter from a member of the public about their response to a First Aid Scenario last week. They had this to say about Jed:
'Jed was extremely professional in managing the situation, when a cyclist fell from his bike and broken his femur. Jed had just finished at Barts for the day, however could not do enough for this gentleman. He remained calm and professional, ensuring that the patient was as comfortable as possible, despite being on the roadside on a busy London street. Jed managed the crowds well, taking control and ensuring the scene was as safe as possible whilst maintaining an absolute focus on the patient’s safety. His bedside manner even in such a difficult environment was outstanding, and he is an absolute credit to the Medical School at Barts.'
Christina Carrington
09/10/2022
Christina (MBBS Year 3), who in her role as Entertainment Officer led the way with our BL Welcome Week events.
It was a hugely successful Freshers fortnight, and it's all a testament to Christina's incredible organisational skills, and her complete commitment. Any 1st years will have seen Christina everywhere these last few weeks, essentially being on call throughout the whole fortnight.
What makes this even more impressive is that Christina has been doing all of this on her own, given that on a normal year the BLSA usually have 2 Entertainment officers!
A genuine standout at the BLSA this year, we cannot be more excited to see what Christina has in store going forward.
Rida Kherati
17/10/2022
Rida Kherati (MBBS Year 4) last week spearheaded the efforts in the PakSoc x WIHSoc Charity Fundraiser on Wednesday.
Rida began organising this event in response to the Pakistan Flood Disaster, and decided to run an event that both celebrated Pakistani culture and also raised over £1700 for the relief effort.
Rida organised an entire evening alongside PakSoc, WIHSoc, BL Dance, and QM Bhangra, with talks from our very own Professor Kumar, and representation from the chosen charity, APPSUK, and it was a huge success.
Rida has shown incredible skill and resolve putting this event on, and was a clear choice for BL Champions this week!
You can still donate here (APPSUK will double all donations from this event): https://gofund.me/762f9d85
All of our BL Champions are entered into a raffle, the result of which will be announced at The Association Dinner in Spring 2023!
Know someone who deserves to be a BL Champion? They can be a current student, staff member or alumnus. If you do fill out the form here to nominate them.