BLACK and Minority Ethnic speakers have been joining staff and students from Solihull Sixth Form College for a series of online events this month.
Students in the College’s BAME Society, supported by staff from the student development office, organised a panel of excellent speakers, who spoke about their experiences and career pathways from the perspective of a person of colour.
They gave particular attention to their own work with social inclusion, as well as giving students advice about how to navigate the world of work and enter university as a person of colour.
The event took place over two evenings. the first night saw four speakers taking part, including student recruitment specialist with Coventry University’s outreach programme Nasrin Akhtar and Masters degree student at Harvard University Vee Kativhu.
A private sector perspective was provided by Sherice Harris, head of brand for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Speedo.
The line-up was completed by Ateef Azam, a dentist and current member of the Summit Learning Trust, the academy trust that includes the college.
The second evening featured Nathan Anibaba, founder and managing director of agency Dealmasters, Diani Walker, an athlete studying for a Masters at the University of Birmingham, and Joy Anibaba, principal housing development officer for Birmingham City Council.
Assistant principal Sonia Wood said: “These were fantastic events.
“I commend the students and staff who organised them for putting together such a superb panel and thank those speakers for giving up their time to tell us of their experiences.
“The stories they told and the advice they passed onto students was inspiring.”
