Olivia Shillabeer (PPE, 2013)
Watch this space—Olivia is going to be making waves in politics and international development in the years to come. She was recently one of our Telethon callers and did a wonderful job at being a college ambassador and raising much needed funds for student support.
I chose to apply to Hertford because it had a couple of pet cats. In hindsight, I probably should have put more thought into it than that. I knew that I wanted to go to Oxford from a very young age, having been told at eight years old that it was the best university in the world; and I knew I wanted to study politics. Faced with very little guidance from anyone around me, and a fair amount of discouragement, I idly put down Hertford on my application, fuelled more by stubbornness, I imagine, than anything else. Fortunately, it was probably the best decision I have made in my life so far.
Beyond Hertford’s inclusiveness and support, it provides fantastic opportunities for all its students. Following a need I’ve always had to solve problems, I ended up working in various student-led consultancy and think-tank-esque societies; my stint as President of Hertford’s own Business and Economics Society, brain-child of a former Hertford undergraduate and her professor, stands out as the most exciting. Thanks to support from our incredible Principal and alumni network, I was able to lead my own project looking into how wellbeing economics could contribute more directly to government policy. I will never forget the day my team were asked to travel to Whitehall to present this project to the Cabinet Secretary; being asked for permission for the Cabinet Office to subsequently publish and consult on our report was the cherry on top. In that moment I realised just how much Hertford had given me.
I was unfathomably lucky to be in a position to apply, and be accepted, to Hertford. Many bright young people all around the world would thrive here, but aren’t as lucky and don’t have the ability or grounding to apply. For us lucky few, we must do everything we can from our position to extend the opportunities Hertford gave us to as many people as we can. As for me now, I’ve moved up north to pursue the career in politics I always dreamed about – to all those whose doors I’ll be knocking on in the coming months, be gentle! I hope to go on to make this career international, with the aim of studying a Master’s in International Relations and then joining the Foreign Service or an international political (preferably refugee-oriented) organisation. As far away as I may end up going though, I will always be a part of Hertford, and Hertford will always be a part of me. I hope that many more people can have that too.