Georgia's Story

"I knew that Sussex was accommodating and inclusive and that it provided support for students who, like me, are the first in their families to go to university."

Georgia Walters on campusGeorgia Walters

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My parents didn’t go to university so it was a bit of a battle to get myself to Sussex and took a lot of independent motivation and determination, but it was something that I knew I wanted to do despite the hurdles that lay in my way.

The Media and Communications BA course and the location were the main deciders for me to choose to study at Sussex, and the First Generation Scheme (FGS) was an added bonus. I knew that Sussex was known for being accommodating and inclusive and that it offered a generous package of support for students who, like me, are the first in their families to go to University.

The FGS provided me with two major life-changing experiences and set me on the path to my new career. The first was going on an International Summer School in Singapore. Through the FGS I was awarded a bursary to help cover my flights and living expenses, and my tuition and accommodation were paid for in full. There is absolutely no way that I, nor any of the people that I went with, would have been able to finance those things ourselves. Summer School was absolutely the best, most unpredictable experience I’ve ever had – it completely changed what I wanted to do with my life.

The second was an 8-week summer internship at a film distribution company based in Brighton, which was financially supported by the FGS. Working in digital marketing and design, my role involved developing marketing collateral, email newsletters and film poster artwork, as well as uploading new films to the company’s website. It was really fun and exciting and after my internship ended I was offered a part-time job, which meant that I could work and study during my final year at Sussex.

After completing my degree, I joined the company full time as the Designer & Digital Marketing/Sales Coordinator. Because of the Covid pandemic I’ve been working remotely rather than in the office, so it’s been a bit of an unconventional start to my career, but I am so grateful to have a role I absolutely love, especially given how difficult the past year has been for university graduates entering the job market. I’m thankful to the FGS scheme for leading me to where I am today.

Whilst still at Sussex I worked as a Widening Participation Ambassador, running school trips and working with school pupils from similarly underrepresented backgrounds. I was incredibly grateful for the opportunities that the FGS offered me, so I guess you could say that I was paying it forward. I will definitely continue giving back to Sussex in the future too.” Georgia Walters
Media and Communications 2018

Sussex scholarships are absolutely life-changing for their recipients. They provide bursaries to support living costs and they fund opportunities like those I was lucky enough to experience. With many students' incomes and circumstances negatively affected by Covid-19, and the costs of living and studying consistently increasing, they really do need the support that scholarships offer more than ever before. I would encourage anybody thinking of supporting a scholarship to do so; the more scholarships that Sussex can offer, the better!

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