“My name is Semilore and I am 21 years old. I was born in Nigeria, however I moved to the UK at the age of 9 and was partly raised in Leicester. I studied Medicine at the University of Birmingham - I felt privileged to study a course I had aspired to for many years.

I applied to Alderman Newton’s Educational Foundation as my mum was undertaking her PhD at the time so I couldn’t get much financial support from my parents. My younger sister had also started university, which made money tighter. This meant that unfortunately, I was unable to fund some of the extensional requirements associated with my course such as medical textbooks and accommodation costs. The Foundation’s grant helped immensely and enabled me to fully focus on academia with fewer external worries. The grant helped me to pay some of my accommodation fees and part of it was used for placement transport. I am eternally grateful as the year would otherwise have been very difficult financially for me.

The opportunities offered to me as a result of this course and the Foundation’s grant have been enormous. It has enabled me to access opportunities which, at the time, may have been out of reach due to finances. It’s already made a huge difference to me. Without this grant, it would have been hard for me to even think about medical school due to financial constraints.

Thus far I’ve been involved in organising several medical conferences, as well as volunteering as a medical mentor to groups of Year 12 students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are considering medicine as a career option. The experience of being a mentor has further motivated me to begin developing free conferences and workshops aimed at GCSE and A-Level students, especially from under-represented and lower socio-economic backgrounds, offering free tutoring and guidance through the medical school process. In addition, I started a YouTube channel aimed at helping individuals get into medicine, offering interview tips and advice on the medical school process.

I have been offered various opportunities as a result of my time in medical school. However, a lot of these would not have been accessible to me without the continued support from Alderman Newton’s Educational Foundation. I am eternally grateful and full of appreciation for all they have done for me and my family. They are a wonderful and friendly organisation who truly care about individuals. They have inspired me with the hope to one day pass on the kindness and generosity shown to future generations.”