Ethnic Equity Officer

Haleigh Gregory

Name and hometown

My name is Haleigh and I am from Hackney in East London.

What inspired you to become a part-time officer?

I decided that I wanted to become a part-time officer when I realised how overlooked I felt within the university and the number of ideas I had that could help to implement some change, even if it was only small steps. When I saw that the elections were taking place I was hesitant at first to run, but I was encouraged by those around me to run in the election. The decision to take the first step and nominate myself came from a pep talk to myself about putting my own anxiety aside and thinking about other people. If I was feeling unheard and overlooked, then there is a great possibility that other students from ethnic minority backgrounds feel the same way. There is a statement that I say and standby all the time, which is 'Above all else, humans all want to be understood' and by taking up the position of the BAME officer it gives me a chance to allow the marginalised to be seen and understood.

What are your priorities for the year?

This year, I would like to focus on getting events put on throughout the academic year for the different ethnic minority groups, celebrating their culture and history instead of only putting an emphasis on them in the national months. For example, September which is ESEA (East and South East Asian) heritage month tends to not have any events on due to it being outside of term time. However, I intend to change this as many students still stay in Leicester over the Summer and I believe it is important for everyone to feel acknowledged. I also plan to be in constant contact with different societies throughout the year, in order to hear feedback from them, this allows me to keep the students' needs at the forefront of my ideas and put plans into place based on what the student body actually want to see.

What are your hobbies and interests?

In my spare time I enjoy reading and watch murder mystery videos and try and solve them while the story is being told. I am a barista outside of being a student and it may be a bit nerdy but I really enjoy learning about and making coffee.