Celebrating 10 years of Pembroke Access: JCR Access Rep - Qianhui Yang

Welcome to the final story in our celebratory series following the 10th anniversary of Pembroke’s Access Programme. Second year Economics and Management student, Qianhui Yang has served as the JCR access rep for the 2018-19 year, co-ordinating events, providing mentorship and more for current and prospective students alike.

‘It’s been a pleasure to be the JCR’s Access Rep in the past academic year. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have worked with such an incredible JCR Committee who have been so supportive in the JCR’s access and outreach efforts. As my term in the post comes to an end, I’d like to reflect on and celebrate some of our achievements.

This year, we ran a trial of the Pembroke JCR Fund with the aim of promoting inclusivity of students from all backgrounds. The Fund’s main purpose is to help JCR members who are under financial strain to attend various Pembroke-related events, in the hope that it will contribute positively toward students’ experiences at Oxford.

During the admissions period, we worked really hard to make Pembroke as warm and as friendly an environment as possible for interviewees. This year, we put on very successful events during the evenings such as ‘hot chocolate & mince pies’ nights, as well as putting ‘Friends’ on the TV during the day, with the hope that it will help interviewees feel relaxed during the stressful period. I also created welcome booklets for each interviewee which provided not only logistical information, but also a warm welcome to the applicants, as well as a quick guide to Oxford.

Over the Easter vac, I worked as an undergraduate mentor for the OxNet Easter Conference organised by Pembroke. It was hugely rewarding to see the participants so engaged and active in our discussions during the seminars I delivered – the experience highlighted just how important access work at Pembroke is in inspiring students from ‘untraditional’ backgrounds.

As part of Pembroke Diversity Week, the Liberation Council and I organised and hosted a panel discussion on access and mental health. I felt that it was important to create a safe space to open up discussion about the two very important and interlinked issues which are both persistent in the intense Oxford environment.

I’m proud to be part of Pembroke, a college which has been committed to encouraging disadvantaged students to apply to higher education, not just Oxford, for more than a decade with their involvement with the Oxnet Programme and more. I’m looking forward to seeing how Pembroke’s access and outreach initiatives continue to grow, whilst at Pembroke and beyond.’

Our celebratory series hopes to shine a light on some of the success stories of students that have come through the Pembroke Access Programme, and how their academic lives have developed and flourished throughout their studies.

Pembroke remains committed to Access and Outreach, and this September we introduce two new courses to the Programme, focusing on language and science. This initiative will focus on sixth form pupils in the North West of England and London, targeting the hardest to reach and striving to raise their aspirations and attainment.