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”..
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.
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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