I have met some wonderful people and enjoyed working with the King's Residences staff. I hope I have provided a unique, personal and peer presence within university halls and helped to make at least one student's living experience a positive one that they will remember in years to come!
Jessica
15 June 2020
Medical student wins national award for supporting student community
Medical student, Jessica O’Logbon has been leading the way on community engagement and recently received a national award.
Jessica is one of seven students across the UK and Ireland who have won a prestigious CUBO RA Award. The Award seeks to recognise the exceptional achievements of Community Facilitators and Residence Assistants who are supporting students living in purpose-built student accommodation.
In her role as a Community Facilitator, Jessica has been dedicated to making sure that other students feel safe and comfortable at their ‘home away from home’. She has run events such as ‘Tea and Talk’ and ‘Art Night’ every week to foster a strong resident community and allow students to open up about themselves. Jessica also advises students on what support services are available to them, such as King's mental health services or Residence Welfare Leads.
Jessica joined King's as part of the Extended Medical Degree programme which aims to level the educational playing field and allow students from underrepresented backgrounds to study medicine. Jessica has also been working to tackle healthcare inequalities and support other students, particularly from Black Caribbean backgrounds, successfully gain a place at medical school.
Jessica is part of King's African Caribbean Medical Society (ACMS), which aims to inspire and equip African & Caribbean students to pursue careers in the field of medicine and thrive within it. The society organised one of the first conferences to focus on the health disparities between black women and their white counterparts suffering from breast cancer: 'Let's Talk About Black Women and Breast Cancer'. The event managed to shed some light on why these disparities may be happening whilst raising awareness for black women to take up screening and self-examine.
Furthermore, Jessica was invited to 10 Downing Street along with other medical students to provide an insight into what can be done to increase representation and cultural competence within the medical field to reduce the UK's current ethnic health inequalities.
Jessica has since been recognised as one of the Powerlist Media’s Top 150 Future Leaders 2019. Future Leaders magazine is an annual publication which profiles 150 of the most outstanding black university students in the UK. It is aimed at secondary school sixth-form, college and university students and is used as a role model guide to inspire and raise attainment.