Priya Sandhu
Awarded Justin Champion Prize for Best Overall Joint Honours Graduate (BA History and Spanish).
I am honoured to be awarded the Justin Champion Prize this year. I feel so privileged to be given this award in his honour, but to also have been part of the close-knit community within the History department. The last three years have gone by so quickly!
Being part of the department
Despite the obvious limitations of graduating during a pandemic, I can truly say that the History department has done its absolute best to keep our cohort feeling proud and uplifted throughout the year. My time in the History Department has been very inclusive, engaging and fun! Lecturers and seminars have consistently challenged us to think more broadly or outside of the box, as well as providing us with the skill set to become expert Historians, which of course, is transferable to many other career paths. It's great that this was emphasised from the very first day. I was always drawn to Royal Holloway for its beautiful buildings, quality of teaching and the sense of community that prevails in all departments. I am so grateful for all of the opportunities at Royal Holloway - from working as a Graduate Research Assistant with Dr Rebecca Jinks, to immediately connecting with my lecturers over their passion for their classes. The variety of course modules has enabled me to find my areas of interest - South Asian and Latin American History. I am extremely excited to take these experiences and refined skill set with me into postgraduate study.
A bit about Priya
After four years of studying BA History and Spanish, I am proud to say that I have graduated! I look forward to starting a Masters in International and Asian History. Royal Holloway has always reiterated the value of higher education (postgraduate), and this has definitely helped to shape my career path. Alongside my studies, I participated in Model United Nations. I represented Royal Holloway at the NMUN Conference in New York during my second year of study. I remember finishing my Independent Essay on the plane, which was exhausting - but also extremely fulfilling. I also volunteered for a charity called SolidariTee during my final year. This incredible charity provides aid to refugees all over the world - as part of my contribution towards making the world a better place, having studied the plight of refugees in seminars. This award has been a lovely way of rounding off my time at Royal Holloway.
Instagram - priyasandhux
