Blackboard Jungle: Kirsty Wilson (1987) interviews Studentship recipient Leia Takeshita Henderson (2016)
In 2016, St John’s introduced Studentships to work in conjunction with the Cambridge Bursary scheme, to provide £10,080 in maintenance costs each year to Home/EU students from households of less than £25,000 pa. In The Marguerite 2018, Development Board member and Studentships supporter, Kirsty Wilson (1987) interviews Studentship recipient Leia Takeshita Henderson (2016) on what led her to John’s. Here’s a glimpse of the piece…
KW: There is university and then there’s the world of Oxbridge. Who gave you the idea to look into Cambridge?
LTH: When I started thinking about university, Cambridge wasn’t a possibility. People had backgrounds so different from my own, and I never saw it as something truly available to me. After my mum passed away when I was in year eleven, my Deputy Head Teacher, Kate Simpson-Holley, took me under her wing. Even though I had received good grades at GCSE, they weren’t perfect, as I was grieving whilst taking exams. It was vital having a parental figure at school to encourage me.
‘We offer an “alternative prospectus” for those who might falter in applying — people from state schools, BME, low socio-economic backgrounds’
KW: Belief and self-confidence are underrated yet crucial. University is so different from when I applied, as now the notion of university equates with debt. When did you become aware of that? As an adult, debt is terrifying — I can’t imagine trying to fathom it as a teenager.
LTH: Debt was such a big word, such an adult concept — it’s other people, it’s banks, it’s hard to get your head around at the age of sixteen. Debt clouded my view of university. My family was very low-income as my mother was unable to work due to her declining health. I had always wanted to work in NGOs but knew there wasn’t a lot of money in such a career — if I studied, how would I pay back that debt? It felt like if I chose education, it would be tied to crushing long-term debt which would forever bar me from pursuing a [poorly paid] future career I was passionate about. Education didn’t seem viable. As teenagers, we’re used to the notion that university equals debt, and that’s the only equation we know. I had a job in year twelve which helped me support my family. Before my mum passed away I remember thinking that going to sixth form wouldn’t be practical — I needed to work for income for the house, for my mum and my brothers.
I now work with the College’s Access Officer to publicise vital information on how to address this debt. On our access residentials, student representatives explain how much you get in College grants and even provide the kids with a budget sheet. We offer an ‘alternative prospectus’ for those who might falter in applying — people from state schools, BME, low socio-economic backgrounds. We reassure them there is diversity, and that the College and the University are melting-pots, despite the tired myths which circulate. I do this because I discovered John’s through access schemes. My school received a visit from St John’s Access Officer, Megan Goldman-Roberts, and I also engaged with the Cambridge University Students’ Union’s shadowing scheme. I then saw St John’s on a Sutton Trust Summer School, and looked online and spoke with the Admissions Tutor, Dr Helen Watson, at an Open Day. Dr Watson was amazing and highlighted how generous John’s is with its financial support. The discovery that, as an independent student (due to my family bereavement I am self-supporting) I would be able to survive here with a Studentship made me want to cry with relief. It sounds silly, but if it’s on a screen or in a book, it feels like it could be fiction, or a dream — hearing it in person made it real.
‘John’s has been blessed with some phenomenal donors who support people like you through the “little and often” approach, which has a far more powerful impact than people realise’
KW: It’s wonderful to hear the system is working. Funding for scholarships is vital, but funding to continue effective access isn’t far behind in my estimation. One of the challenges now is that, with the complete withdrawal of Maintenance Grants on top of the hike in tuition fees, the spectrum of people affected has expanded. The concept of student debt was alien to my generation. I worry about the future of Higher Education and how we’re going to pay for it as a country and keep it to the standard we need. John’s has been blessed with some phenomenal donors who support people like you through the ‘little and often’ approach, which has a far more powerful impact than people realise.
LTH: When you’re giving to charity it’s hard to know where it’s going. But I do know. My Studentship peers used to worry about trying to balance schoolwork, working in the evening, and finding time to sleep, but now we have a sanctuary. John’s has become home. My Studentship has allowed me to stay here during the holidays, which is essential as I don’t have a family home to return to (my brother had to take a lodger into my room to help pay the bills). Coming to John’s is the best decision I ever made.
