On this special day, we honour our Co-founder and Patron, Baroness Valerie Amos. May your birthday be filled with joy and love. We are grateful for all that you do. Thank you for being an inspiration to us all!
🎉Happy Birthday Baroness Amos 🎉
Wishing You a Prosperous 2024!
As we continue to shape young people’s educational journeys, the commitment to fostering growth, support, and opportunity remains a cornerstone of our mission. The impressive number of applications, successful selections, and active participation in our programmes highlight the enduring impact of The Amos Bursary on the lives of students in London and the West Midlands.
2023 IN REVIEW
Our reflective video ‘2023 in Review’ encapsulates the essence of our journey throughout the year. As 2023 swiftly draws to a close, we are excitedly gearing up for the arrival of 2024.
APPLICATIONS ARE STILL OPEN
Be sure to get your application in before they close at 23:59 on 12 January 2024. We’re looking forward to welcoming our new cohort.
Check out our Become an Amos Student page for details.
MENTORING MATTERS
With all these new students coming, we need the mentors to support them. Why don’t you join us and empower young people to change the narrative and normalise success?
For more information, check out our Mentoring Page.
CELEBRATING 15 YEARS IN 2024
Our biennial Gala Dinner will take place on Friday, 21 June 2024, and coincides with our 15th year celebration. Keep an eye on our website as tickets go on general sale in January.
Wishing You a Prosperous New Year!
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories from the Amos Bursary community in 2024 as we continue
#PromotingExcellence, #ShapingFutures and #ChangeTheNarrative
AMOS Media – October Round Up – Black History Month Special
As we bid farewell to October, it’s time to look back at the incredible stories and achievements that made this Black History Month so special for us (and there’s a lot!). Our Amos Bursary community continues to shine, promoting excellence, shaping futures and changing the narrative. Here’s a roundup of our top stories.
SALUTING OUR SISTERS
To mark this year’s Black History Month theme of ‘Celebrating or Sisters’, our students and alumni weighed in on the amazing black women they wanted to celebrate.
PROMOTING EXCELLENCE
Samuel Olajugba, a trailblazing Politics and International Relations undergraduate at the University of Kent, embodies excellence, inspires positive change and is ready to make waves at Anthropy UK. 🔗Read more
Ife Alabi, a Warwick Law undergraduate, empowers Midlands youth with a mindset of resilience and LinkedIn expertise, fostering opportunities for growth and achievement. 🔗Read more
Nike Ajijola‘s remarkable speech at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre encourages others to embrace opportunities, seek support, and network with everyone. 🔗 Read more
Alumni Seun Sontan and Gabriel Amida and their team once again brought together African Caribbean Societies from universities across the UK to the Live Nation x Amos Bursary ACS Leadership Summit. 🔗Read more
SHAPING FUTURES
On the first day of the month, one of our Charity Partners, Ideas Foundation, shared how we joined forces to offer Amos students incredible opportunities to nurture their creative talents. 🔗 Read more
Grant Thornton staff gave up their office and their time to introduce students to the world of accounting and financial services with a real-world perspective. It’s been amazing to read some of the employees’ accounts. 🔗 Read more 🔗 Jessica Winter’s thoughts 🔗 Carly Gordon’s wishes
Linklaters opened their doors once again for our Student Development Day where we went through CV Writing, Interviews and Preparation For the World of Work. 🔗 What Awa Amon had to say🔗 Alexia Manentsa’s account
Amos students gained valuable insights at a speed networking session put on by Brown Brothers Harriman at their London HQ. 🔗 Read more
CHANGING THE NARRATIVE
Bank of America opened its doors for the official launch of The Amos Bursary Under 16 Progressive Network, designed to help students thrive at school and transition successfully into life after GCSEs.
Rokos Capital Management hosted their Black History Month event, which included a book signing by entrepreneur, author and social commentator (oh and did we say Amos Alumnus and Ambassador), Kenny Imafidon. 🔗 Read more 🔗 What Kavaughn had to say🔗 Read Destiny’s account
Linklaters hosted the Black Apprentice Network’s BHM Conference reviewing the accomplishments of the network in the last year while also providing a glimpse into the upcoming plans for their community in the months ahead. 🔗Read more
Bukunmi Oloyede reminded us how delighted she was to have been selected for the Mission 44 Youth Advisory Board. As an aspiring engineer, she considers it a profound privilege to be a part of this inspirational charity dedicated to driving transformative change. 🔗Read more
Cambridge undergraduate, Amber Morrison spoke at PwC’s virtual town hall meeting explaining what ‘Saluting our Sisters’ means to her as part of our first female cohort and how these bold young women are being equipped to bridge the Authority Gap as they prepare to enter the world of work.
Standard Chartered Bank Celebrated Black History Month, extending their welcome to The Amos Bursary. We were privileged to be able to enjoy the live sounds of the amazing YolanDa Brown and her band. 🔗Read more
Jibril Rose received the Inspired Youth Award from the Association of Jamaican Nationals UK and got the chance to discuss government policy and the issues people are facing in today’s society at No.10! 🔗Read more
They say things come in threes, well Amos Alumni and Ambassador, George Imafidon MBE thought he would keep that trend going this month, in a spectacular way…
1. The Prince of Wales presented the Kid from Prince of Peckham with an MBE no less for services to engineering, technology and young people! 🔗Read more
2. George was awarded Entrepreneur Rising Star of the Year by Barclays and The Black British Business Awards for the work of his organisation Motivez. 🔗 Read more
3. KPMG recognised Motivez as the Most Promising Non-Profit Organisation. 🔗Read more
ELSEWHERE IN THE COMMUNITY
CELEBRATE Johansel Emanuel Hernandez Pena and Sharon Ukpere both reaching their fundraising goals. They will both be off on the Amos Bursary International Experience to Lisbon, Portugal this year – Web Summit here they come. 🔗Johansel’s fundraising journey🔗Sharon’s fundraising journey
🔗SUPPORT Amos Mentor and donor of over 150 suits to our students, Michael Barrington-Hibbert, is standing as a candidate for Alderman of the City of London. If successful Michael will be the first black Alderman!
🔗CONGRATULATE Amos supporter, Elicia McKenzie who shone at LCCI Black Excellence Awards.
🔗WATCH Amos Alumni Karl Kareem Melami reveal the Sisters he celebrates not just in Black History Month. Spoiler alert, we all salute them for where we are today!
🔗LISTEN to Worklife with Adam Grant
🔗READ ‘That Peckham Boy’ by Kenny Imafidon of course!
Applications to join The Amos Bursary in 2024 open mid-November
Check out our Become an Amos Student Page for details.
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories from the Amos Bursary community as we continue to normalise success!
AUTHOR: Owensugie Ehioghae, Amos Bursary Scholar & Chemistry Undergraduate at Warwick University
Celebrating Our Pioneers Mike and Dolly Amos
Today we celebrate our Windrush Generation pioneers.
Those amazing trailblazers that were invited to rebuild post-war Britain and through adversity and oppression built a legacy of excellence and culture that has shaped the fabric of our society. Mike and Dolly Amos were part of that generation. The Amos Bursary was born out of their belief in young people and the power of education to transform lives.
They understood the pernicious and sustained negative impact of discrimination and prejudice on young people and they fought it through instilling pride in and understanding of black history and culture and the desire to be the best.
They were strong, determined and unflinching in their pursuit of excellence. They believed in family and community and were generous and welcoming. The Amos Bursary is built on their values. We are successful because as students we acknowledge the challenges we face and are determined to overcome them. We are prepared to work hard and to give and receive support. We are a huge extended family.
Because they did what they did, we can do what we do.
Find out more about the Legacy of Mike and Dolly Amos by reading our latest Impact Report
International Women’s Day – On Her Shoulders
Tonight we marked International Women’s Day by celebrating our very own committee member, Juliet Alexander, at the British Film Institute (BFI). There’s so much more to say about this wonderful evening but it was not lost on us that the title of this 120-minute documentary brilliantly sums up the position of the women of the Amos Bursary.
On Her Shoulders: Black Women in Broadcast Journalism, it screams. And yes whilst the words after the colon give this film more context about Juliet’s personal career, On “Her” Shoulders brilliantly describes where The Amos Bursary began. And by “her” we mean Colleen Amos, by “her”, we mean Baroness Valerie Amos but more than this, by “her” we mean all of the women who since 2009 have been promoting excellence and changing the narrative for young men of African and Caribbean heritage.
But it’s International Women’s Day and we can’t say we were not excited when three years ago young black women were also invited to stand #onhershoulders and The Amos Bursary began shaping futures for the next generation of Black Women in Broadcast Journalism, the next generation of Black Women in STEM, the next generation of Black Women in Law, the next generation of Black Women in __ (fill in the blank!)
So we thought it only right to end the night by celebrating some of the shoulders we stand on, and we mean this is only some, and some of us doing the standing (and strengthening our own shoulders for the future of course). Happy International Women’s Day!
To become a supporter of The Amos Bursary like Juliet Alexander click here
Check out the International Women’s Day website to see how it was celebrated around the world.
#IWD2023 #EmbraceEquity #InternationalWomensDay
Remembering George Floyd on the Journey Forward
Today marks the second anniversary of the passing of George Floyd and we take a moment to reflect on his untimely murder in a police attack.
In case there is anyone who does not know, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was apprehended for an alleged offence in Minneapolis, USA. Following his apprehension, four police officers took a series of actions that not only violated his rights but lead to his neck being pinned against the ground, whilst he pleaded for his life, for eight minutes and forty-six seconds until he eventually passed away.
It took little under nine minutes for a police officer, Derick Chauvin to take his life. Nine minutes that should have been used to make the rational and moral decision to drive Mr Floyd to the police station for further questioning, yet instead they were spent murdering and allowing his murder, despite bystanders crying and screaming for them to stop.
There is no denying that the treatment Mr Floyd received was unjust; regardless of whatever crime he may have been accused of committing there is no excuse to murder anyone, let alone due to racial stereotypes associated with the colour of their skin.
While this day signposts an untimely and melancholic event, it also reinforces the mission of charities such as The Amos Bursary. Our mission seeks to help change the negative narrative associated with being young and Black. To help others see that we are so much more than a code like ‘IC3’ or a statistic in the number of people not going into higher education. That we can make our dreams a reality and not feel like we have to be held down by the clichés associated with being black.
The AMOS Bursary community that has been formed over the past 13 years facilitates and champions the success of ambitious Black British men and women from underprivileged backgrounds. It offers us empowerment and the ability to develop confidence in ourselves and our skill sets through workshops, networking events and so much more. Being part of The Bursary and its excellence program has made us increasingly confident in our abilities by the minute.
It has often been said that Mahatma Gandhi famously said “Be the change you want to see in the world”. In fact what he said was “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.” As AMOS Bursary scholars we can say with confidence, that the skills and mindset that are being developed in us are helping us to become pioneers of change within our community. We’re not waiting to see what others do. We’re moving and we’re shaping futures that transform stereotypes about young black people and that allow students and professionals of African and Caribbean heritage to have the same opportunities as their white counterparts.
Article by Oluwabukunmi Oloyede and Daniel Bateren
Discover how The AMOS Bursary students and alumni have been inspired to change the narrative.
Think about partnering with us to shape the future
Talking diversity, equality and inclusion with HRH The Prince of Wales
Yesterday four AMOS brothers were part of a round table discussion at University College, Oxford hosted by Baroness Amos of Brondesbury with His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales as the guest of honour.
Amos alumni and ambassador Isaiah Wellington-Lynn, alongside current Amos scholars Wayne Gouro, Kwabena Osei and Leon Gidigbi discussed key issues surrounding access to Oxford and Cambridge for underrepresented groups and shared their own personal journeys of applying to and being at Oxford. The Prince took great interest in understanding their varied perspectives and the challenges they faced which included everything from misconceptions of Oxford, to lack of guidance and encouragement.
They also reflected on critical things that have helped them on their journeys such as the UNIQ Oxford program and The AMOS Bursary, and they explored ideas of what could be done to improve access further.
Isaiah’s PhD research paper “The anthropology of belonging, meritocracy and privilege” was of particular interest as Prince Charles is currently thinking a lot about how to leverage his network to better support young people pre, during and post-university, and those who take alternative paths. Isaiah said of the visit, “He was very inquisitive and managed to get me to talk about a lot of different things from basketball, my £64,000 crowdfunding campaign and my upbringing to the London Interdisciplinary School, the challenges of siloed education, and a university’s duty to validate contemporary jobs and career paths.”
Yesterday these young men left the residence of Baroness Amos feeling privileged to have had a seat at such an influential table alongside the future monarch. Today they got their heads back down and continued the necessary work to build the tables that they can invite their younger AMOS brothers and sisters to sit at in the future.
When future kings meet the future king great things can happen!
Get insight into what drives our amazing co-founder and patron Baroness Valerie Amos in her Becoming X interview
Discover what sets AMOS Bursary Students apart in any room and what inspires our alumni to continue to be ambassadors for change
Stephen Lawrence Day 2022 – A Legacy of Change
Today, 22nd April 2022, is the fifth Stephen Lawrence Day, since its introduction following the tireless advocacy of his parents, Neville Lawrence and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.
As a young person who was recently introduced to the details of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, it saddens me that when I Google searched his name the first few articles that popped up reduced him to a mere statistic – a black teenager who was murdered in a racist attack. It is obvious that he was so much more than that.
I think a lot of the time when recounting those who lost their lives in terrible circumstances, we tend to gloss over who they were as people and the lives they lived. After a while, we stop seeing those involved as individual innocents and merely another example of the extent of the institutionalised racism in the country. It pains me to see people be reduced to being another case to add to the long list of names of those killed in racial atrocities.
Stephen Lawrence was an 18-year-old boy who lived in Eltham in South London. He had dreams and aspirations of becoming an architect. These were stopped in their tracks. This Stephen Lawrence Day, I want to recall who Stephen Lawrence was, as a son, a brother, a cousin, a friend and most importantly a fellow man. I want to think about how, if he was not murdered, he would have achieved his dreams of being an architect.
Let us celebrate the life he did live, and the many accomplishments that his mother, Baroness Lawrence, has completed since that fateful day. Like how she successfully campaigned for police reform and the elimination of double jeopardy (the principle that stopped suspects from being tried twice for the same crime). After founding the Stephen Lawrence Trust and opening the £10 million Stephen Lawrence Centre, in 2018 she achieved the ultimate goal of convincing the Prime Minister to introduce a day every year to commemorate the life of her son. The strength of Baroness Doreen Lawrence is extremely admirable and makes you ponder how much Stephen would have also achieved if he was alive today.
Instead of this day being full of sorrow, I would like to instead celebrate Stephen Lawrence’s life and look forward to the impact his family’s legacy will have on future generations, on my generation and on me.
Moyin Babalola – AMOS Bursary Progressive
#SLDay22 #StephenLawrenceDay #BecauseOfStephen #LegacyOfChange #LiveYourBestLife
Happy International Women’s Day
Our AMOS Bursary Sister Circle began in 2021 with the first female cohort. We are privileged to be a part of an inspirational network of black women from the AMOS Bursary staff, associates, committee members, supporters and donors whose aim is to build us up to be the leaders of tomorrow.
As young black women, this incredible support system helps address and challenge all and any limiting beliefs and strives to empower us to be the best that we can be. Some of our discussions have included issues such as:
- The importance of female friendships and how to cultivate them
- Being confident in our abilities and building our self-esteem
- How to speak our minds and stay firm in our convictions
- Confident and success in male-dominated environments
- Maintaining our mental wellbeing
- The fight against over-sexualisation
- Helping people see that we can be both energetic and smart
- How to deal with the barriers we face in society
- Demystifying university life
- Recognising the gaslighting of career vs. children
- Debunking the stereotypes attached to women in the workplace
- Articulating what it means to be a young black woman in today’s society and how that affects our life choices
- Getting us excited about what lies ahead in the future
This International Women’s day for us is dedicated to celebrating the empowering exchange of ideas, encouragement, and motivation within our sisterhood.
The AMOS Sister Circle, we will #BreakTheBias
What’s on Your Bookshelf?
We’re always eager to share the knowledge so this World Book Day some of our alumni gave us an insight into their top reads.
The answers were nothing less than insightful so get ready for a bookshelf restock after you check these out.
- What book has had the biggest impact on your life to date and why?
2. What is your number one must-read recommendation for all AB Students (other than Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which we all know is an AMOS Bursary staple!)?
3. What was the last book you read?
So like we said, time for a bookshelf re-stock! If you do pick up any of the recommendations above share your own review with us in the comments. Happy Reading!