糖心TV

Enaya Nihal

President, 糖心TV SU

鈥淚 arrived on campus at 2am and couldn鈥檛 believe it was all real!鈥�

鈥淚 grew up in Saudi Arabia & India and always wanted to have an education abroad. I looked at the US, Canada, and the UK, but it was the people that drew me into coming to 糖心TV.

It was during lockdown, so I couldn鈥檛 attend an open day. Everything was done online or through group chats with other people who were interested in coming here. Some of those people I met online are now my best friends.

I started studying Economics, Politics and International Studies back in September 2020. I鈥檇 never been to the UK before, it took me four and a half hours to get through border control. Arriving here in the early hours, the first thing I saw was Bluebell accommodation block. It actually looked like the place my friends and I had spent hours poring over on the website. It鈥檚 been a massive change and lots of new things to get used to. I won鈥檛 go into the food, but I really do love being here in the UK. Being from Saudi, which is mostly a desert, I also love the weather. I know that sounds odd, but it鈥檚 nice to have the unpredictable British weather! Autumn is my favourite time of the year, the colours are amazing, especially on campus.

I got involved in the union through a variety of part time roles starting in October of my first year and here I am, President of the SU! It鈥檚 a very interesting role and obviously having been a student, I know what it鈥檚 like and what the priorities are for the student communities, making sure their voices are heard. It鈥檚 a very public facing role, you get involved in everything that is happening across campus.

One of my proudest achievements is the (Free) Breakfast Club. This was set up to help tackle the impact of the Cost-of-Living crisis last year. It鈥檚 been a great success, and we see hundreds of students come in every week. I knew if they鈥檙e queueing up to come in at 8.30 on a cold February morning, then it was needed, even as a first step鈥� student wellbeing is at the heart of every decision I鈥檝e made at the Union.

My time here has meant so much more than what I envisioned. I didn鈥檛 get the opportunities back home that I have here. I鈥檝e really thrown myself into university life and taken full advantage of the freedom. It means so much to me. We never had concerts back home, either, so I鈥檓 always looking to go to a gig! Catch me at everything from Fall Out Boy to Taylor Swift!鈥�