'I'm the first in my family to go to university - today means everything'
Today means everything for 18-year-old Alisha Mahmud, who has worked so hard against the odds to get to where she is. The British Asian student, from Ilford, London, achieved three A*s in her A-levels this morning and will become the very first in her family to head to university this September.
And with those impressive grades, it's no surprise that she's managed to secure a prestigious place to study medicine at one of the country's top unis, Imperial College London. "It's an absolute dream come true, all my hard work paid off," she told the Mirror.
Growing up in a low-income family in a deprived area of the capital, Alisha has had to overcome many challenges throughout her teens. She explained: “As I will be the first member of my family to go to university, let alone study medicine, it was initially quite daunting to navigate the application process.
Alisha hopes to be a doctor for female athletes one day (Alisha Mahmud)
The student received help through a mentor (Alisha Mahmud)"Lots of people, including some teachers, believed my career and academic aspirations were too ambitious and unrealistic. Coming from a low-income family who lived in a deprived area, I didn’t have access to the best opportunities during secondary school. Therefore, I worked hard to get into a school that provided more application support and opportunities.
"Whilst my peers could afford private tuition for the subjects they struggled in, I didn't have easy access to this support. I remember using the money I received on birthdays and competition prizes to fund extra lessons in order to put my education first.” Due to these barriers, securing a degree didn’t always seem like a viable option for Alisha.
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She explained: “I didn’t have an insight into further education or university until the later stages of my secondary education. As nobody in my family went to university I wasn’t exposed to the steps of applying to university or what the life of a university student is like. Very few students in my secondary school went to Russell Group universities or applied to Medicine.”
In June last year, Alisha signed up to free technology platform Zero Gravity, which powers thousands of low-opportunity state school students into top universities through mentoring, masterclasses, and connecting with a community of like-minded students from similar backgrounds. It aims to level the playing field for UK students and give socially mobile students the tools to widen their access to opportunities to top institutions.
Speaking about the support Alisha received to help defy the odds stacked against her, she said: “Zero Gravity provided me with countless opportunities to engage with universities first-hand and most importantly, receive mentoring from a medicine student at the University of Oxford who was also from a low-opportunity background and could understand my challenges and ambitions.”
Her mentor in the programme encouraged her to apply to Oxbridge after she shared her experiences of teachers at her school warning her about how competitive it is, and who even suggested she would be "wasting" an application. The mentor met with Alisha weekly to provide guidance on interview prep and pushing herself out of her comfort zone.
"This support was pivotal in me securing four offers to study medicine, including at the University of Cambridge," Alisha asserted. "Achieving an offer to study medicine at a prestigious university is life-changing. It opens many unique opportunities and the privilege to help the most vulnerable in society. I am excited to embark on this new journey and it’s honestly a dream come true”.
Her parents are also extremely proud of her for being the first to go to university, stating: “Since she was born we have created many dreams together and now she is accomplishing them. She has so much passion and enthusiasm for life, wanting to make a real difference to others.” Alisha’s ambition for the future after university is to become a doctor, specialising in sports medicine.
She expressed: “I would love to work with female athletes and footballers in particular, by helping to provide holistic care that is tailored to the specific anatomical differences they have. I have also started my own little business that sells affordable revision resources to students and offers free mentoring to students from disadvantaged backgrounds like me, which I’d love to scale further.”
Alisha, who is keen to become a mentor on Zero Gravity herself, hopes to help the next generation of low-opportunity school students who’ll be facing similar challenges that she did, whilst hoping to inspire her siblings. "I'm really looking forward to what the future holds and being the first means I can support and hopefully inspire my siblings to fulfil their aspirations too," the future doctor added.
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