I grew up on a council estate in Dalston together with my parents, who emigrated from Bangladesh in the 1970s. I have four older siblings – all of whom went to state school too.
In 2001, when my older brother joined my secondary school, they only achieved around 12% 5 A*-C grades, and the most diligent students would leave at year 11. When I started, attitudes at the school had started to change – albeit slowly! When our new headteacher took the reins, he partnered up with the Access Project, an organisation that offers tutoring to disadvantaged pupils, which shifted the schools focus towards supporting all students to aim for an apprenticeship or university. I was lucky to be a student at the school while all this was happening but despite this shift, there were still only a handful in my year group who got into a Russell Group university and it was several more years before the first student was accepted at Oxbridge.
The US Programme was incredible. It wasn’t just about visiting Yale. It was an inclusive and varied experience that opened my eyes to a world beyond East London. Although I didn’t end up studying in the US, I felt strongly affiliated to the programme and passionate about its impact on young people’s lives. I later interned at the Fulbright Commission, was a team leader for two future cohorts and supported an initiative called ‘Fulbright 1:1’ that offered UCAS and careers support to UK-based students.
The programme hugely influenced my decision to study at the New College of the Humanities in London. It’s a UK university modelled on the American system, and I would not have understood the value of a liberal arts education before my Sutton Trust programme. It’s so important that initiatives like the Sutton Trust exist – young people need to be able to make informed decisions about their future.
At university I thought I wanted to be a lawyer and I went quite far down the law ‘rabbit hole’. I got legal work experience, landed a training contract and was convinced it was what I wanted to do. When it came to finals in third year I realised corporate law just wasn’t for me, which was a hard realisation to accept. If you are academically successful and from a disadvantaged background there is a certain pressure to work in ‘top’ professions. My parents worked hard to provide for me, and I worked hard to succeed in my exams. Changing direction at this point did not come easily, but it was definitely worth it…
During university I kept up my other passions for theatre and politics. By complete chance, I had written an article on the legalities and legal processes of Brexit, which I sent to the head of my university. He put me in touch with the Good Law Project, which led to me being a party in the Gina Miller-led Article 50 litigation that reached the Supreme Court. I worked on fundraising, campaigning, strategic communications and I was also a spokesperson for the campaign. It was an amazing experience and pushed me to channel my legal interests in a new direction by starting my own pressure group – the People’s Challenge – of which I’m still a Director. Off the back of this I also co-founded a charity, Here for Good, which provides free immigration services to in-need European Economic Area citizens and their families living in the UK.
It was these early experiences that led me to where I am now – in public affairs at M&C Saatchi, working closely with a range of grassroots organisations and Government. Each day is fascinating and different from the next, but I would never have found this job if I hadn’t trusted my gut.
I can see already that my path has changed a lot so I try not to focus on a single goal. Flexibility is important to me and in this generation, it is acceptable and even encouraged to explore different career paths.
Outside of the office, I would like to continue my work in theatre. So far, I have been lucky enough to write, direct or produce seven professional productions, I’m on the board for the Kings Head Theatre in Islington and during university I started my own theatre company End of Moving Walkway with a close friend. In the next few months we’re planning on taking the theatre company in a whole new direction – watch this space…
I have learnt that people are always happy to talk, especially if they share your background. Cold emailing is scary, but I’ve managed to get some amazing mentors out of the process. Go for a coffee and pick their brains! You just have to make that first step.
Another thing I have learnt is that being proactive is key. Going to certain universities often means your classmates will be mostly privately educated – in my year at my university it was probably around 90%. Certain things just seem to happen for them and it is easy to feel like this should happen to you too. You have got to put yourself out there and I promise that people prefer this attitude – making the initial move will encourage people to invest in you!