I was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa and lived there until my parents escaped to Austria as refugees. I grew up in Austria until my parents migrated again to the UK in 2007 to provide better educational opportunities for myself and my siblings. So, I am a Sierra Leoni born, Austrian national.
2023 is my 9th year at St George’s. I started in 2014 studying for a Bsc in Biomedical Science, I then became a sabbatical officer (Vice-President Finance & Student Activities) in the Students’ Union in 2017/18 as I was passionate about student experience.
I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship to complete an MSc in Global Health and Conflict in 2018/19 and was meant to start the Graduate Entry Medicine course in the 2019/20 academic year. However, there was an overlap with the end of my master’s and I was asked to defer. I instead started the course in 2020 and will hopefully finish in 2024 meaning I’ll have spent 10 years at St George’s in total.
I was the first person in my immediate family to go to university and my parents weren’t really aware of what the application process entailed - UCAS, personal statement, work experience etc.
I’ve navigated my path through Higher Education by pure happenstance and feel fortunate to have had incredible people around me who were very supportive. I did not take the expected, or at the time preferred, path to get to where I am now, but I would not change my journey or experiences at all.
I met my fiancé Gabriela Barzyk, some of my best friends, and some absolutely brilliant mentors while at St George’s. The environment has allowed me to further my passion in Global Health.
The SKIP (Students for Kids International Projects) society provided me with the opportunity to lead a team of volunteers in Kenya and Morocco, for example. This allowed me to develop important leadership skills while furthering my global health aspirations.
I am particularly proud of receiving the Global Health MSc scholarship, being awarded a Laurel by the Students’ Union, my time as Vice-President Finance & Student Activities in the Students’ Union, starting my own community interest company Student MedAid London as well as my research in Sierra Leone.
My most important role model is my mother. She arrived in Austria not speaking the language or with any previous education. She took odd jobs as a cleaner, but wanted to better herself and so went to college in Austria until she received the Austrian equivalent of GCSEs. She then started from scratch again when we came to the UK but kept working on herself and is now a Healthcare Assistant - a career she enjoys and is proud of.
Whenever I think times are tough or feel like I am at a disadvantage, I just think ‘what would my mother do?’
Vafie Sheriff is a student at St George's, University of London.