The LSE Volunteer Centre has received some fantastic nominations for the LSE Volunteer of the Year Award 2023! Students have been nominated by charities, fellow LSE students and LSE members of staff. We’re incredibly proud to be home to so many committed, enthusiastic and passionate student volunteers. The award winners will be announced at our in-person LSE Volunteer Awards ceremony on Wednesday 3 May, and we’ll be tasked with the difficult decision of choosing them. Congratulations to the following nominees for their excellence in volunteering while being students at the LSE and read more about them below!

Anushka Patel (BA Anthropology and Law, 2023) 

• Role: SVA and Volunteer with Childhood Trust 
• Not only has Anushka taken time to research and advocate Childhood poverty but she’s also been proactive in garnering student support for Childhood Trust and enlightening students on the impact they can have. Additionally, Anushka has applied has the knowledge she receives from looking at Children in Ethnography and is thus able to conceptualise childhood poverty in these frameworks. For example, she was able to aptly highlight the structural changes needed for there to be an impact as well as highlighting the disparities in resources within London.

Josephine Precetti (BSc Economic History and Geography, 2023) 

• Role: SVA, Student Academic Mentor, Off-Campus Peer Supporter, Student Academic Representative 
• Jospehine has given so much to improve the experiences of other students since being at LSE. Most of her volunteering had been dedicated to supporting others, in particular her roles as a Student Academic Mentor where she has mentored six first year students and being an Off-Campus Peer Supporter. Additionally she has given 100% to being a Student Volunteering Ambassador and has brought so much energy and fresh ideas to this role. She was part of the team that organised Giving Tuesday and she put on a flash mob that took over the ground floor of the Marshall Building. It was an incredible moment! She is always looking to help others and I hope she knows how appreciated she is by the LSE community.

Samuel Quek (BSc in Politics and Economics, 2025) 

• Role: Literacy Support Volunteer (Crewmate) with The Literacy Pirates 
• Samuel has volunteered with The Literacy Pirates since February, working 1:1 and in small groups to help children in Hackney, who are falling behind in school and have fewer opportunities in their personal lives, to develop literacy, confidence and perseverance so that they can succeed at school and beyond. Samuel has grown in confidence over this term, working regularly with our secondary Young Pirates (that’s what we call our young people!) As well as bringing a kind and patient approach to volunteering, he always gets involved in the games, inspiring the Young Pirates to join in. Notably, Samuel has been working closely with one of our Young Pirates Kent, helping him develop his newspaper article on the Rise of the Robots. Session Leaders have commented that he is excellent at keeping Kent engaged in the session. Thank you for all your hard work Samuel!

James Relf (BSc Mathematics and Economics, 2024) 

• Role: President of RAG 
• James has made such a big difference to the LSE community. He has done this by establishing so many fun new charity fund-raising events. He is helped to create I think the biggest event this year which was the rag fashion show, helped to launch a charity shop on campus and has been such a figure head for RAG this year. I think he has made a big difference by involving the LSE community in raising and giving opportunities that have been extremely fun and memorable

Caitlin Rieuwerts (BSc Mathematics and Economics, 2025) 

• Role: Ambassador for Mind, Community Action Ghana 
• Ambassador and Student Champion for Mind 27 27 campaign (running to fundraise and destigmatise mental health), Communications Volunteering for Community Action Ghana Newsletter and LSE Student Academic Mentor. Caitlin has devoted a lot of time and effort throughout the year to helping people in a number of different ways – she dedicated herself to assisting first year students at LSE by guiding them and reducing their anxiety and uncertainty, and representing Mind on a larger scale to destigmatise mental health across the UK, creating resources to help countless peers that she knows she would have appreciated in the past. Her work with international charity Community Action Ghana to found a newsletter that regularly updates donors and interested parties to promote the organisation’s progress and incentivise donations. Using her experience as a communicator and fundraiser, she has been able to make a vast impact through multiple avenues, and make valuable change.

Gina Sanchez (MSc Gender, Peace and Security, 2023) 

• Role: Research and Projects Volunteer with HealthProm
• Gina’s contributions to HealthProm have been nothing short of transformative. Over almost 6 months of volunteering with us, she has:
  • Committed to full days at the office and events, stepping oin days off
  • Researched options and established a CRM software for our use, after completely transforming our tracking systems within Microsoft Excel as well – this is a steppingstone in our UK-based expansion as a charity
  • Grown from helping the team’s tasks to leading her own projects, such as the International Women’s Day campaign and corporate partnerships (the latter ongoing)
  • Established new partnerships with local businesses and community centers, such as LIFT Islington, who will be providing us with pro-bono facility space for an event
  • Has become a member of the Fundraising Committee – something a volunteer has not achieved before at HealthProm. We hope that LSE sees the way Gina has impacted us all at HealthProm and recognizes her as the LSE Volunteer of the Year.

Ishika Srivastava (BSc International Relations and History, 2023) 

• Role: Volunteer for Amnesty International 
• LSESU Amnesty International: As President, Ishika spearheaded a vigil for Ukraine with UN Soc & Grimshaw Club which won the LSESU award for Best Collaboration. She worked on a campaign for healthcare as a human right & advocated for reproductive rights in Poland by overseeing a fundraiser which included interviewing women from Poland about their experiences with abortion. She also led panel discussions about accessibility to healthcare for the global LGBT community, with speakers from across the world. This was awarded an LSESU Inclusivity Award. With the Ethiopian Women’s Charity, Ishika volunteers weekly as their social media manager. As the charity has only one paid employee, Ishika increases awareness about their events ranging from digital literacy to family planning. Ishika was also the co-founder of an intercollegiate fundraiser of 13 student societies across 11 universities in the UK which fed 500 individuals for 2 months during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

David Summers (BSc Economics with Economic History, 2024) 

• Role: Student Academic Mentor 
• I would like to nominate this student because he genuinely has helped me gain confidence in my own abilities and recognises the potential that not many people see in me. He is reliable and consistent, offering specific advice and guidance in ways that have led to the final success of my applications. I am very happy and grateful for my achievements, given that at the start of the year, I came into LSE not knowing anything about what I wanted to do in the future. I genuinely do not think I would have achieved my results if it was not for the motivation and continuous support offered by this student.

Vanessa Tantisunthorn (LLBB in Laws, 2023) 

• Role: English Conversation Mentor with Safe Child Thailand
• Vanessa has been an invaluable asset to the community, devoting countless hours of their time and effort to provide quality education to children in Thailand who would otherwise have limited access to such resources. Their teaching style is engaging and effective, and their ability to connect with the children is truly remarkable. She is not only a teacher but a mentor to the children, inspiring and guiding them to reach their full potential.They have designed innovative lesson plans, organized creative and fun activities, and established a warm and nurturing environment that encourages learning and personal growth. The impact of Vanessa‘s work cannot be overstated. The children they have taught have gained not only essential language skills but also display increased confidence when speaking English, allowing them to access further education opportunities. Vanessa has made a significant difference in the lives of these children. 

Naveen Venkatanarayanan (BSc International Social and Public Policy, 2023)

• Role: Peer Support Scheme 
• Naveen has been fantastic at offering support in their hall as well as outside it, hosting weekend hikes open to any student for example. This is his second year as a peer supporter and he hopes to continue next year as a Masters student.

Anna Ward (BSc Politics and International Relations, 2025) 

• Role: Volunteer for Girlguides 
• Anna is very dedicated to volunteering for the Girlguides, giving up an evening a week to run meetings for the Guides. She has been volunteering with them for many years now. I find her dedication to volunteering very inspiring as she always gives up her time even when extremely busy with her degree. I find this very impressive considering how heavy the workload at LSE can be. Organising different activities for the Girlguides every week requires effort, which I am sure all the Girlguides in her unit greatly appreciate her doing. As a previous Girlguide myself, I know personally how enjoyable the weekly meetings are, and what a difference Anna is making to the lives of the girls. Anna is a great asset to the LSE community, and I hope you will consider her for this award.

Yijing Xiao (MSc Political Economy of Europe, 2023) 

• Role: Volunteer for Tanzania Development Trust 
• Invovled in background research, grant applications and fundraising for the climate change adaptation and sustainability-related projects in Tanzania. The student has been participating in long-term volunteer work for three years, especially in the field of fundraising for charities. She has been working for Tanzania Development Trust (TDT) since the beginning of the academic year. She is persistent and dedicated in her contribution towards TDT and its partner community-based organisation in Tanzania via fundraising for their sustainable projects in rural parts of Tanzania. She is committed to making her own contribution towards the more disadvantaged groups and general sustainable development.

Sofia Zavala (BSc Sociology, 2024) 

• Role: Volunteer with Students Talk about Loss
• Sofia joined the team running Students Talk About Loss in September 2022 and has made a massive contribution to the behind-the-scenes functioning of the group. She was a constant source of ideas and inspiration for how we could make the group work better for its participants, and how we could reach more people. In particular, she was a driving force behind the establishment of our Instagram page, which became our most consistent and effective means of widening the reach of the group. She also made herself available to help set up the space ahead of almost every session, a reflection of her dedication and constancy. This was a really critical role, as the physical space makes a massive difference to people’s willingness to open up and share. I feel so lucky to have worked with Sofia on this group, and without the ideas, encouragement and practical support that she offered throughout the year, Students Talk About Loss just wouldn’t have been the same.

Read Part 1 of our fantastic student nominees and stay tuned to hear more about our amazing charity nominees!