RARE  RISINGSTARS 2015 The UK’s Top 10 Black Students
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No. 10

 

IVAN BECKLEY

Medicine
University College London (UCL)
Academia and Charity

Lutalo Muhammad


At only 19, Ivan Beckley has set the wheels in motion for a project that will inspire a generation.

As the first in his family to go to university, Ivan says he often questioned whether his goal of becoming one of a vanishingly small number of black surgeons was even achievable. Although his parents role modelled an excellent work ethic – his dad worked extremely hard as a security guard and his mother as a caterer – his Elephant and Castle upbringing didn’t afford him access to any role models that had achieved his educational ambitions. He felt the responsibility of his position as eldest in the family keenly however, and “worked very hard”, eventually securing a coveted place on UCL’s medical course.

The university thought he would benefit from deferred entry so he spent a year working for City Year at Feltham secondary school. This experience brought him into contact with talented children that he felt “just needed to be pushed to achieve their absolute potential”. It was this that inspired him to set up Limitless. He wanted, he says, to give the children confidence so taught them about their minds: “how do you think? How do you forget? How do you remember?” He wanted the programme to give the students the tools to “do whatever they wanted to”..

“I’m inspired by the opportunity to change the story of people who come from a certain background.”

Within six months he’d spoken to head teachers at an Innovation Day run by Teach First, secured funding from O2 Think Big, put together a group of undergraduates from a range of disciplines and run a pilot in two schools. The early feedback has been positive and he is currently setting up a bigger programme to start in autumn 2015. Limitless has recently won £500 funding and a year’s membership from the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services. The package includes a year’s worth of much needed support and mentoring.

Meanwhile, Ivan has been carving himself a niche at UCL’s School of Medicine. He was recently appointed Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, is first year student representative for Medical Education and is a committee member on UCL’s first ever Diversity in Surgery Committee. He receives financial support in the form of two scholarships, worth £4,000 per year, and recently spoke at the House of Lords on behalf of the Amos Bursary. He is a two-time Jack Petchey award-winner and one of only 60 students in the country who was named a #iwill ambassador 2014 as part of the Step Up to Serve nationwide initiative. His radio show – Inspire UCL – showcases successful students at the university.

“You need to have complete faith in what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. If you have your motivations clear – and don’t lose sight of them – you can achieve anything.”

Ivan has now set his sights on redevelopment in Sierra Leone, his parents’ home country. To this end, he plans to spend the summer in New York working for a consultancy firm, developing the skills he’ll need to “really make a difference”.

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