The Amos Bursary Student of the Year 2022

André Dean-Swaray who graduated with a degree in Architecture from the University of Reading was recognised at the AB Gala dinner as the Amos Bursary 2022 Student of the Year for his community work.

André constantly gives his time and energy to The Bursary by supporting events and over the last two years has had a significant impact on the lives of 12 young men. He recently completed the training to become one of our Lumina Spark Practitioners which will enable him to facilitate workshops helping others increase their self-awareness, improve communication, teamwork and leadership skills.

In 2020, St. Martin’s Academy, an all-girls school had an intake of young men into the sixth form, 12 of whom were from the African and Caribbean community. The then head of sixth form was eager to be as supportive to them as possible and reached out to the Amos Bursary to seek guidance. André, along with another AB undergraduate – Nathan, was chosen to visit the school and discuss ways they could support the students. After meeting the students, André and Nathan decided that they would continue to support them during their time at sixth form.

André selflessly gave his time over his final two years at university. With the support of Bursary scholars and alumni, he designed and executed a personal development programme for the boys. Two students from St. Martin’s Academy Sixth Form, Abdul-Rasheed Animaseun and Tariqke Gittens-Barclay, along with their learning mentor from the school, Charlene Braithwaite, attended the Amos Bursary Gala dinner to share their story. They spoke about what the programme did for them and the impact André had on them personally.

Today, Andre is an apprentice at Fosters and Partners and a post graduate student at Oxford Brookes University working towards becoming a fully qualified architect.