Valentina's story
Studying at a campus university felt important because I’ve spent so much of my life travelling, and really crave community.” Valentina Wampamba
History and Politics BA (Hons)
Growing up between England, Scotland, Tanzania, Ghana and the US, I’ve always been fascinated by how culture, identity and politics connect.
The COVID-19 lockdown marked a real turning point for me. With so much time to immerse myself in news and political analysis, I became increasingly interested in exploring political unrest, corruption and civil rights issues, and decided to switch my A Levels to History, Politics, and Philosophy and Ethics. I didn’t think I’d get the grades for Sussex, but surprised myself with straight As, and was lucky enough to be accepted through Clearing.
I felt drawn to my degree because of its focus on American history, and decided to add politics as a dual-honours after my first term because I love how the field synthesises history and modernity.
I've been lucky enough to meet some amazing friends at Sussex, and there are plenty of social spaces where you can study together or just hang out. University societies also have so much to offer – I’m a member of the Afro-Caribbean Society, and I’ve learnt a lot about coding and creativity at the annual HackSussex Hackathon.
While half my family speak Spanish, I’m not a confident speaker, so I applied for a teaching placement in Madrid to improve my language skills. The experience was a bit of a culture shock, but a truly amazing opportunity. As someone who has moved around a lot, assimilating into a new culture felt like second nature - I feel like I not only developed as a teacher, but learned the importance of nourishing young minds.
In the future, I plan to secure my PGCE whilst studying for a part-time Masters in International Education. In the long term, I want to focus on making learning more accessible and inspiring. Every child has the right to a fair education, and I want to empower more children to learn about the world around them.