ALUMNI NEWS
Alumni NEWS Centre stage with Michelle Obama
Meeting Michelle Obama as a schoolgirl was the catalyst that Surrey graduate Winnie Mac needed to spur her on to succeed. The former First Lady visited Winnie’s Islington school in 2009, with the message that “being smart is the coolest thing in the world”.
The message stayed with her and almost a decade on she was invited to join Mrs Obama on the stage on an emotional return visit. In the intervening years, Winnie had gone on to achieve good exam results, volunteer as a maths tutor at her school, gain a BSc in Chemistry and secure work as a scientist.
Winnie said: “I was so excited to join her on stage but at the same time I was also very nervous in case I messed up my words, especially with the large audience of students and reporters. Once it started, I felt immediately comforted; she answered all of our questions engagingly and she spoke of things that a lot of us can relate to – relationships, finding our passions, imposter syndrome to name a few.”
Mrs Obama said of reuniting with Winnie and other former pupils: “Meeting the girls reminded me how much courage and talent and hope there is.”
Alumnus raises profile of rare diseases
The experience of living with a disease that affects just one in a million people has led Surrey alumnus Mishal Dattani to the House of Commons.
Mishal, 33, who graduated with a BA in Politics with International Studies in 2010, suffers from Budd-Chiari syndrome which affects the liver and blood vessels.
As part of Rare Disease Day earlier this year, Mishal attended a Westminster reception to speak to politicians and policymakers about his own condition and raise the profile of those who suffer from rare diseases across the UK.
It is estimated that 3.5 million people in Britain will be affected by a rare disease (one that affects less than five in 10,000 of the general population) at some point in their lives.
Mishal was off work for seven months; he continues to visit a liver disease consultant and haemotologist at the Royal Free Hospital in London and takes anticoagulation medication.
He said: “It’s such a rare disease that there’s a worldwide Facebook group and we only have about 140 members!”
Image: Will Fahy
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Forever Surrey 2019
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