By David Coles

The LSE Volunteer Centre is delighted to reveal the second five students who have been shortlisted for the LSE Volunteer of the Year award. The first five were announced on Friday. All the students below have either been nominated by an organisation or an LSE student.

We look forward to announcing the winner at our celebratory event on May 13th.

Name: Emily Goodwin
Nominated for: Hub leader for FoodCycle LSE
Nomination:

Now amongst FoodCycle’s longest-standing volunteers nationally, over the past 2 years Emily has led FoodCycle LSE in its development into a highly successful Hub, helping the project to serve over 1,700 three-course meals in 2012/3, while saving 1,600kg of surplus food from being wasted.

In her specific role as Communications and PR Hub Leader within the team, Emily has been responsible for a massive increase in the presence and impact of the Hub’s social media, which now reach over 600 people, as well as the creation of a successful blog, all of which led to FoodCycle LSE receiving the award for Best Social Media at the national FoodCycle Conference this year.

She has also been instrumental in setting up the FoodCycle LSE Society, which has greatly raised the profile of FoodCycle on campus, and thanks to Emily’s efforts the Hub has been able to recruit over 110 new volunteers in the past year, primarily from LSE.

Name: Connor Russell
Nominated for: Academic Support Tutor, Mentor, Buddy, IntoUniversity LSE Ambassador
Nomination:

We can’t praise Connor enough for his volunteering work with IntoUniversity. Connor has shown a high level of commitment to our opportunities and ethos during his three years as a Mentor, Academic Support Tutor, Ambassador and Buddy, contributing well over 100 volunteering hours. We have also really valued his perseverance in raising IntoUniversity’s profile at LSE, for which he has laid out a strong foundation for our future relationship with students at the university. He has continued being a committed Mentor at our Hackney South centre, despite also helping with Academic Support, organising Buddy days and setting up a Social Mobility Society which IntoUniversity will partner with. Thank you so much for your hard work and support Connor – you have really gone above and beyond as an IntoUniversity volunteer.

Name: Miguel Silva
Nominated for: Tutor for LSE Widening Participation
Nomination:

I would like to nominate Miguel Silva for the Volunteer of the Year award. Miguel had been nominated for and won the Tutor of the Year Award this year. His tutee was totally insistant on him winning this award. She told me how passionate Miguel was when explaining when explaining topics to her; a passion that transferred on to her. He has served as an invaluable member of the tutoring scheme this year. The tutoring scheme aims to improve young people’s aspirations and attainment by matching up school students to LSE students. Target schools are either performing below the National Average or have a high free school meals percentage (35.1% or above). Students that participate must also meet certain criteria, i.e, on free school meals, living in an area of low progression to university, etc. This is to ensure that the scheme is targeting students most in need of support. The tutoring takes place at various school across London once a week during the Lent Term. All tutors are given training and go to an induction in the Michaelmas Term in preparation for tutoring.

Some of the key things that Miguel’s tutee mentioned on her nomination for Tutor of the Year were:

– He helped me change my weaknesses to strengths- Miguel is a very dedicated person in everything he does
– The passion that radiated from him is very inspiring to see and makes me want to do well too
– He has taught me skills that has made me more equiped for the “big wide world”
– The only way I can say thank you is by making him Tutor of the Year.

Name: Mohsin Rasheed
Nominated for: Volunteering for Justuju Welfare Organization
Nomination:

The student in context has been working for the previous three years in an Organization called Justuju Welfare Organization where by the NGO has two projects. One is of adopting a Government School and Improving its system and education in Pakistan. The other project is of having their own school for poor childeren. The student in context has taken charge of the Adoption of the Government School. He manages a staff of more than 80 people and around 1000 students study in the school for Kinder Garten to tenth grade. He has brought phenomenal changes in the school that admission application rates have increased more than 20 times than the highest that the school has ever seen in its history. The school only had 250 students 3 years back and now has aorund 1000 students and is working at full capacity. The student in context has raised millions of rupees to run this and improove the shcool by providing infrastructural facilities including a new computer lab, library and science labs as well as renovating the school and making it attractive for students to come by providing basic neccessities such as Washroom and drinking water facilities which had not been present there for around 20 years. The school has been identified as the second best adopted school in the whole province where the school is and it is being managed by a LSE student only who studies and works via skype each day. During his breaks he spends more than 10 hours a day in the school to monitor everything personally. His commitment and achievements are exemplary and have been mentioned in the National News papers as well.He has also been interviewed multiple times of National Newspaper and on National Radio stations as well. I have posted some links to a few things that would help you look at his work. Before this; This individual has been a source of arranging treatment for more than 15,000 patients free of cost who live in rural areas of Pakistan. These people have been treated from diseases like Cancer, Eye Surgeries and other general widespread diseases.

Name: Isabella Mosselmans
Nominated for: Restless Development volunteer and advocate
Nomination:

Bella has been an incredibly active member of our organisation since volunteering with us in Sierra Leone between June 2013 – September 2014. Bella took part in the International Citizen Service (ICS), a global volunteering experience which supports young people from all backgrounds to make a real difference to some of the world’s poorest people. The programme includes a 12 week volunteering placement overseas in Africa or Asia, as well as action on their return to promote awareness about development issues in the UK.

Since her return Bella has been incredibly active in the UK. She is the Campaigns Officer for Amnesty International at LSE, and recently ran a successful campaign on Child Rights.She is in the process of planning a national campaign around British mining companies corporate responsibility in Sierra Leone and has written a number of excellent articles on numerous issues.