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Gavin Mensah-Coker, Senior Lecturer in English Language

Gavin's rescue dog, Harry

Gavin Mensah-Coker, Senior Lecturer in English Language in the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, is a founder and steering committee member of Black at Sussex, the University's five-year programme which aims to celebrate the achievements of Black alumni and foster a greater sense of belonging for Black students. Staff and students are invited to join the next event in the programme, which is a closing celebration marking the end of Jenny Mitchell’s recent poetry residency.

We caught up with Gavin to find out more about him and what he loves about his role and working at Sussex. 

There are not many jobs where you really can make a difference to somebody's life chances. I love working with Foundation Year students because we're in a unique position as lecturers. We can help them get over some of the small hurdles they face, like how to give effective presentations without falling to pieces, and when they're given an essay, how to break it down so that it’s manageable. That is something that I get a lot of joy from.

I also like that I can carve out my own interests, and I've done that with the Black at Sussex programme and some of my equality and student belonging roles. My work on the education and scholarship track, supporting students of colour with specific learning differences, means my days are busy. But I am lucky to have time and stability in my career to be able to spend time getting deep into areas I’m interested in. That is a real privilege of my job - to be able to use my limited time effectively on the things that interest me and benefit our students.

The Black at Sussex programme started from an understanding that there was a lack of a sense of belonging for Black students at Sussex. I want Black students to feel that they have place at this University, and that they feel valued, seen and heard. There are issues endemic to higher education of overt racism and unconscious bias, and there are also issues that are specific to our University. There is a lot to do, and it is about finding ways of creating spaces and platforms for staff and students to make an impact in the areas that they're interested in.

I really want the programme to have a legacy impact, and there are long-term projects where Black students have been involved, including some of the work that we're doing with the Library on the Black Legacy Studies collection. It's really important that students are able to empower and facilitate others to take part in these projects so that knowledge is shared and we create a critical mass of student involvement. It’s hard, because students are pushed for time and often pushed for money - Black students in particular - but we do what we can to try and change the narrative.

My office, in Arts A building, has a feeling of being home on the campus and that's important to me. I like the circular pond nearby. Sometimes, especially in the summer, I will go and sit there and I often meet a colleague and chat in the sunshine. There is also a square between Arts A and Arts B where I go to sit if I just want five minutes of solitude and of not thinking. There's a particular bench that I welcome being there, as it gives me a little bit of space in the open air.

My life has changed quite radically in the last few years. There was a time I used to spend a lot of time socialising and going clubbing. None of that happens now! But I love to go for meals and to the cinema with friends. I also relax by lifting weights and playing tennis. I have ADHD and OCD and very moderate autism spectrum condition, so sport is a great way to help my brain switch off. But the thing that's paramount in my life right now is I've just adopted a rescue puppy, Harry, from Cyprus who is absolutely lovely. My favourite thing is going for walks with him because he is changing every day and it's really interesting to see.

I've been given loads of advice over the years, most of which I haven’t listened to. I often realise later that it's been good advice. If you can find a way to listen to your parents and put to one side the fact that it's your parents telling you something, then that's useful. I come back to something my grandmother used to say, which is “smell the roses”. There have been times in my life where things have not been easy, and I have found myself walking somewhere and just noticing the flowers along my path. There's something about taking a few moments away from a situation to pause and smell flowers that just puts things into context.