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Carrying on with our celebration of the class of 2023, we spoke to the lovely Nasifa Ahmadi. Nasifa has recently graduated from our LLB (Hons) Law course and was also the School Valedictorian at . 

Here’s what she had to say about her time at BNU.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hello, my name is Nasifa Ahmadi, a First-Class Honours graduate in LLB (Hons) Law from BNU. I recently graduated and I had the honour to be the chosen Valedictorian for Business and Law. I will be working at BNU from the 7th of August 2023 as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in Law. I have the passion to teach law as law is all around us and helping students to grow and become knowledgeable in this field is very rewarding. 

And how did you about feel being valedictorian and giving your speech?

Being chosen as the Valedictorian, felt great and amazing for being recognised for my hard work; especially in front of all the students of Business and Law, Presiding officer, Vice Chancellor and all the guests. This was a very special day, and one which I will always cherish. Having done the speech, I felt super excited and happy, I could not stop smiling when I turned to my right side, seeing the Vice-Chancellor Nick Braisby, Head of School Sarah Williams and my lecturers. The moment they all looked at me I felt so proud.

Why did you choose to study at BNU?

BNU is not just any ordinary university, it is a great university with ambition and passion. Since I joined BNU the lecturers always went above and beyond. Even outside their lecturing time they would make time for us students to either re-explain a lecture, revision classes or clear up any confusion we had. At BNU I have built a good professional relationship with the staff members, including the student’s union and librarians. 

At BNU the facilities run by the SU, such as the Big Deal, are amazing. It gives you FREE access to a range of competitive and recreational sport, including CV building, activities and skill workshops. This is in addition to the free access of events and entertainment too. 

The glass pods at the library are great when wanting to study alone or have a group meeting. I just wish those outside of these walls of BNU could experience what we have here.

What did you love most about your time at BNU?

The passion and great support of our lectures. Prior to studying here at BNU I went to a bigger university in the UK, where the lecturers would not speak to you or support you much. Choosing BNU was the best decision I made for my studies. A big thank you to all of my lecturers: Jenny Preston, Ze'ev Portner, Naveed Ali, Obiajunwa Ama, Constantina Lazaridou, Neelam Singh and Lolwa Alfadhel. All of these lecturers were amazing, so inspirational and very professional. Also, a big thank you to the Student Learning and Achievement department and in particular, Simon Lee Price, who has been a great support to my studies since joining BNU. 

I also liked the challenges we faced during Covid-19 where we had to continue our study from home and quickly learn how to navigate this new way of learning.

While being a Student Rep in my final year, alongside other reps, we created the Business and Law Society – a safe space for students from our School to develop, share and grow, that I hope will bring others together as it did for us. That’s just one example of the type of environment that is BNU.

Which skills gained at BNU have you used most in your career so far?

The one skill I have used so far professionally is my confidence in communication and leadership skills. As a Student Rep in 2022-2023, I represented my students concerns by giving their feedbacks to lecturers and staff above. This also included meetings with the Head of School and other staff members too, to discuss and communicate the law course and any feedback. I have achieved a couple of certificates while being a Student Rep, these included: a bronze award, “Rep of the month” for improving the student experience; a silver award for obtaining 200 points on the Rep Recognition Scheme; and a Leadership Academy certificate in recognition of satisfactory completion of all modules 2022-2023, demonstrating commitment to self-development through training courses, employability sessions, networking and self-awareness.

Why would you recommend this course?

Law is all around us, being taught this course at BNU would be so rewarding to students and help them grow and strive. It can open many doors for them. They can become a Barrister, representing their clients at a court by advocating, or become a solicitor.

Not only this, but BNU is a great university because it can also give opportunities to graduate students to teach and further their career even more in the future! This is rewarding and a privilege to have here at BNU. This degree represents not only academic excellence, but also the development of critical thinking skills, communication, leadership skills and problem-solving abilities.