Celebrating Success Series: Victoria Lewis

This is the fifth article in our 2018 news series celebrating the high performance of Pembroke undergraduate students and recent alumni in their examinations.

Victoria Lewis (Jurisprudence, 2015) recently graduated with a First Class degree. We caught up with her to congratulate her on this recent success and to find out more about how her extra-curricular activities helped her to find a work-life balance and the impact that Pembroke’s access programme had on her University journey.

My favourite part of the Law course was my human rights option, as I was able to deeply explore this area, which is the reason I chose the course in the first place. I think the top tip for succeeding in this and any course is to not see the mark you get as defining your success. You succeed by doing the best that you can do, regardless of what anybody tells you. 

It's easy to forget at Oxford that you are entitled to a life of your own, but it is the key to making the most out of your university experience. You are only able to perform to the best of your ability academically when you have the support and fulfilment you need, whatever that may be. I was a Lloyds Scholar which involved volunteering and an internship, as well as Women's Vice-Captain for PCBC (Pembroke College Boat Club) and a flanker in Pembroke's Women's Rugby team. 

The access programme Pembroke North had a huge impact on my life. Meeting people in the same position as ourselves and forming close friendships made the whole experience of applying and studying at a top university so much easier. The programme offered us a support network which would otherwise not have been there, and I believe this transformed the whole journey.