Abbey Vaid (2020, History), Welfare Rep

Abbey Vaid (2020, History) is JCR Welfare Rep alongside Hamzah Mahomed (2020, Chemistry). In her profile, she discusses nerves, wild swimming and Welcome Week. 

How did you come to Univ? 
I didn’t! I applied originally to Balliol before being invited to interview at Univ, but I loved it when I got there.

How have you changed since walking through Univ’s doors for the first time?
I have definitely grown up a lot since coming to Univ, and I feel much more confident in myself which I really noticed when I started to get more involved in college activities. I am also much better at washing up!

Has anything about your course/Oxford University experience/Univ surprised you?
I was surprised at how much freedom there was within the course to study within your own time and take responsibility for your own work, I have definitely had to get a lot better at being disciplined and structuring my time.

What would you like incoming freshers to know about Welfare?
Hamzah and I are really looking forward to Welcome Week, as we have loads of events planned to help the freshers get to know each other and actually have a laugh at the same time without feeling pressured to drink or go clubbing. I am also personally excited to run self-defence classes in Welfare Week each term, an idea that was suggested in Trinity Term that I thought was amazing.

What do you do outside your studies?
Outside of my course, I spend a lot of time with my flatmates and often we explore Oxford. Last term, in particular, we went wild swimming, went out a lot in the evenings and just wandered around the city. I’m also very into using the university gym and pool when I can.

Do you have any advice for incoming freshers or prospective students?
My advice for Freshers would just be to relax and remember that everyone else feels exactly the same way — no matter how confident someone looks, they are as nervous as you inside.

Describe Univ in three words.
Relaxed, friendly and open-minded!

Published: 27 September 2021

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