Role Model of the Year

This Award recognises individuals who have gone above and beyond to represent their society by embodying its core values and instilling them in others. They exemplify the best within themselves, and are recognised as a role model for their achievements.

Any society member can be a role model. There are always those who may not necessarily sit on the committee but are heavily involved in activities. They give their all to their commitments, volunteer to help when needed and encourage others to join in. They could be a society member, committee member, a student rep, or a local volunteer. Does someone stand out to you as having had a profound and demonstrable impact on your society, school or University community?

Only individuals can be nominated for this Award.

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See an example of a great nomination:

Our 2020 Role Model of the Year is Molly Service from oSTEM. Her nomination is a great example of what the judges are looking for in this category:

Molly is an essential member of oSTEM. Having joined in her first year of university, she ran for a committee position as soon as she could. As Publicity Officer, she helped encourage members to participate in events and have their say. She then took on the role of oSTEM Chair, led the Society’s second STEM, LGBTQ & You conference and co-ran a pronouns workshop at the LGBTQ+ STEMinar. Molly has also been flown to America by oSTEM Incorporated, their umbrella organisation, three times: twice for their Annual Conference, at which oSTEM Birmingham was nominated for Chapter of the Year under Molly’s leadership, and again for a Leadership Summit. She was also Co-Lead for Equal in STEM, collaborating with BEaMS and WISE to design a fully inclusive programme and has also delivered a workshop for Girls in STEM. In recognition of this hard work and dedication, Molly has been acknowledged as a role model for equality and diversity, and as such is regularly invited to deliver talks at University and external events. Most notably she gave a talk at the UKSEDS Careers Event, which went so well that the organisation invited her to become Team Lead for Diversity and Inclusion. She has not hesitated to take on roles within the College and wider community. She shows how anyone can take what they know and educate others. Molly exemplifies the mission of oSTEM by empowering LGBTQ+ people in STEM to achieve success in a supportive environment

More strong examples can be found in the 2020 Shortlist brochure.