Student Voice

Olivia Taylor (2018) is a Psychological and Behavioural Sciences finalist at Clare, specialising in biological anthropology.

She is Head of Operations at Role Models Yorkshire, a non-profit that seeks to inspire and assist young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to fulfil their potential. In this role, she helped to create RMHub, a resource providing guidance and support on education, careers, well-being and more.

Olivia took part in Clare’s December 2020 Telephone Campaign, reaching out to alumni across the world and helping to raise almost £200,000 to support Clare.

What important lesson have you learned during your time at Clare so far?

The most important thing that I’ve learnt at Clare is that my background does not exclude me from building a future. When it was first suggested to me that I apply to Cambridge, I had said ‘I didn’t think that a place like that was for people like me’. Coming from a low-income background, Cambridge was beyond daunting. However, at Clare I have felt nothing but supported and accepted, especially by the Finance Tutor, Dr Fred Parker, the College Nurses, Helen James and Esther Manning, my Personal Tutor, Dr Ian Burrows, and my DoS, https://www.cam.ac.uk/thiscambridgelife/vanessachuangandoliviataylorDr Rebecca Lawson. The student body gave me a platform by making me Clare’s Class Act Representative, which allowed me to participate in access events to continue making Clare a place for people of all backgrounds. Clare has become my home and I do belong here, despite the fears I held as a teenager.

During your time in Cambridge, you have had a lot of involvement with Student Community Action. Could you explain a little about what SCA does and the work that you personally have done with them?

Student Community Action is an amazing charity and student society at Cambridge. I am so incredibly proud to work with them and grateful for the awesome opportunities I’ve had. Specifically, I was 2019–2020 Publicity Officer and I worked on volunteer recruitment and social media. I’ve also done more one-off volunteering such as delivering Christmas presents during the pandemic, a project called Celebration Surprises, which helped to celebrate children’s birthdays online through the lockdowns, and as a task force volunteer with elderly people in care homes.

However, my favourite contributions are always on-the-ground volunteering. I’ve been running a club as Project Manager for SEND (special educational needs and disability) and vulnerable children in the wider Cambridge community since my second year. Obviously the pandemic interfered with this virtual service for families but I’m excited to say that we will be restarting BOUNCE in October!

You were recently named as one of the upReach Ten at the Student Social Mobility Awards for 2020–21. What does that recognition mean to you?

It’s really beyond anything I expected. The things
I do were always motivated by a deep belief that people from low-income backgrounds deserve the best chances of building a future, regardless of whether that means going to Oxbridge or accessing employment. It was motivated by the people who changed my life, including Emily Campbell (1985), a Clare alumna who first supported me in applying to Cambridge, despite my reservations. My hard work being recognised meant a lot, but the biggest award was sharing my work with the RMHub with those who attended and making valuable connections who believe in the importance
of social mobility.

What was it like to attend the awards themselves?

It was breath-taking. The stories and work of the students who attended were incredible. The energy around social mobility was touching beyond belief. My favourite part was that I found my paths crossing with people who had been a part of my journey – including other students from the same academy trust as me, and Andy Johnson, who was the director of the access scheme I participated in during the sixth form.

What are you looking forward to about returning to College?

I’m so excited to return to Clare after taking some time off for health reasons, to get involved in College life again and be able to enjoy it perhaps a tad more ‘normally’ than before I took some time off! I’m counting down the days until I can re-engage with academic and College life.