In a year quite unlike any other, we wanted to acknowledge how fantastically resilient our students have all been throughout an extremely difficult time.
To recognise this strength our students have all shown, our Student Experience team asked Arts and Humanities students to nominate their ‘hero’. They were thrilled to receive so many positive and inspiring nominations – we hope these bring you a little piece of joy and a reminder that hope can always be found, even in the toughest times.
Hui Tan
Nominated by Nirav Malde
“Hui Tan (known as Hui Wen) has been an absolutely amazing student and addition to our cohort of stage one architecture. She has offered us so much in her energy and commitment. She has lead our stage one weekly socials giving us time to get to know one another have a wind down and also discuss subject things. Furthermore, she also initiated the stage one architecture page where she has fellow reps running the page and sharing our work. Hui takes her role as a rep very seriously as she takes care of our cohort and attends meetings.”
James Vincent
Nominated by Anna-Maria Pitsaki
“His paradigmatic work ethic and being around his creative spirit alone motivated me to keep going. He patiently provided me with valuable input and introduced me to a variety of buildings and architects and inspired me to look at situations differently. He is undoubtedly one of the best mentors I’ve ever had and it was a true pleasure getting to know him and working with him.”
Nominated by Rebecca Woolich
“James has been a mentor, friend and consistent source of support and encouragement throughout the most difficult times at University. Not only has he offered informal advice, he has expanded his formal mentorship to include people who need assistance without request or a second thought. As President of KASA (Kent Architectural Student Association), he has offered a hand to anybody who asks for help and always makes himself readily available to those who need him. He repeatedly stood up for students and had their best interests at heart during distressing changes in the department and made students feel validated and represented. He was particularly there for international students who were struggling and provided advice and guidance for those who felt disconnected and unmotivated whilst so far away from campus. Even when faced with challenging situations, he has acted with compassion and integrity and has always supported his community. As a friend, his presence has been calming and focussing through all the ups and downs of the pandemic and University in general, always there with encouraging words and sentiments. He has been a pillar of kindness and strength for many, not to mention his academic and creative excellence. I believe he deserves to be recognised as an Arts and Humanities Hero for these reasons, and many more.”
Kehinde Pereira
Nominated by Rebecca Jilks
“Kehinde is a final year MArch student who has been my fantastic Academic Peer Mentor throughout the year, giving me incredible support and guidance in regular video calls and emails. Alike many students, it has been a challenging journey completing my third and final year during the pandemic. It has been all too easy to feel isolated while away from university and stressed about finding a Part 1 architecture job in the current climate, so hearing his experience and advice about work and Masters has been invaluable! Thank you so much Kehinde and wishing you all the best for the future!”
Nirav Malde
Nominated by Samuel Crow
“As a second year student, I had the pleasure of being Nirav’s peer mentor this year. Nirav is an extremely dedicated student, and his work always holds a compelling enthusiasm. Personally, Nirav has helped me through his amazing confidence and communication. Despite actually never meeting in real life, Nirav still feels like a friend.”
Omar Malik
Nominated by Nirav Malde
“Omar Malik deserves this award for his outstanding contribution to the Stage 1 cohort of Architecture. He has always been there through and through looking out fir the fellow students. Whether it was technical advice or providing reassurance or humour. You could always count on Omar to be there. Even in the online tutorials, you could always feel his presence as he always actively took part with joy and fascination. He’s got an incredibly warm heart and kind nature and I’m sure everyone appreciate hearing from him or their wide ranging conversations with him. Tutors and students alike.”