Full name: Allison Owens
Age: 22
Course & year of study: Language and Linguistics, Masters.
Give us your pitch! Why do you want the job and why should students vote for you?
The system is broken. As Education Officer, I would have the power to change aspects of the University of Sheffield and to help improve the experiences of my fellow students. Voting for me would mean electing someone who would listen to students and lobby the University on their behalf.
With an unlimited budget, what one thing would you do to improve higher education in the UK?
Improve education infrastructure (e.g. Eduroam and the iSheffield app) across campus.
Why do you believe a degree-level education is important?
I am the first person in my family to attend University and completing my degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Sheffield transformed my life. Everyone should have access to the tools and support that they require in order to complete their degree and thrive in a university setting.
Three words to describe yourself?
Charismatic, Confident, Approachable
Who would play you in a film of your life?
Ingrid Oliver – I really liked Osgood in Doctor Who.
What’s the best city in the UK (don’t be boring, you can’t say Sheffield!)?
Derby because I’ve always wanted to go ‘Derbados’!
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Taco Bell (sorry I’m such a millennial at heart)
You can time travel to any year in history anywhere in the world. Where, when and why?
Shrewsbury, Shropshire. 1995. I would go to before I was born and meet both my grandma and my nan. My grandma inspired my love of education and read to me as a child, hence the love of reading. She developed dementia when I was a teenager and she never got to see me graduate from University. I never met my nan, she died before I was born, but I’ve been told that I take after her in many, many ways.
Film or music? Favourite film/ artist depending on your answer?
Films. Bridget Jones’s Diary is my go to comfort film.
Keep one. Henderson’s relish, mayonnaise or ketchup?
Henderson’s relish.
Given the choice … pub, club or coffee shop? & Name your favourite pub/ club/ cafe in Sheffield depending on your answer.
Coffee shop. I love South Street Kitchen in Park Hill. It’s super convenient for where I live and they make an amazing oat milk latte.
What’s your meal deal? Not Tesco-exclusive, you can be edgy and pick a different shop …
Fajita chicken wrap, prawn cocktail crisps, and a Naked Smoothie (gotta get your money’s worth!)
Which living person do you most admire and why?
My campaign manager/ spin doctor Charlotte. She is an incredible friend and I am so so grateful to have her in my life (and no, she did not make me say this).
What’s your favourite thing about Sheffield?
The community that I have found here. Sheffield is a home to me like no other place I know and it is filled with people I love and care about, a family.