We are delighted to announce that Chevening Scholar, Yasir Mehdi, was the recipient of a 2016 ‘Enriching Student Life Award’. Commonly known as ELSAs they are awarded by Cardiff University Student Union (CUSU) to acknowledge the students and staff who have contributed to enriching the university campus. Yasir was one of four students shortlisted for his particular category.

Yasir Mehdi was awarded the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Student Rep of the Year Award at the black-tie award ceremony. He was presented his award by Cardiff University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Patricia Price. 

Postgraduate Programme Coordinator, Freya Michaud shared her reasons for nominating him:

‘Yasir has been the most conscientious, enthusiastic and competent rep I have ever worked with. He volunteered as a judge for the Staff Teaching Awards, and is postgraduate representative of Cardiff Business School for our Learning and Teaching Committee.’ 

In 2015, Cardiff University found 90% of their students were satisfied with their overall university experience. A large part of the students’ satisfaction is enhanced by the exceptional efforts made by CUSU, which is an independent part of the university and represents its students.

Freya continues by mentioning: ‘He is so articulate and confident whenever he speaks in all meetings. It is noted that students never speak in Learning and Teaching Committee, but he spoke up and was minuted and really stood up for the students he represents.

‘He is extremely selfless, warm hearted and hard working. He is always delighted to help classmates and goes above and beyond to help solve any issues. He is absolutely an exemplary rep and really deserves this award.’

Yasir is a Chevening Scholar from Pakistan and is currently studying for an MSc in Accounting and Finance.

The 2016 ELSAs received a record 545 individual nominations, and we’re proud that Yasir stood out amongst strong competition. It’s a pleasure to be notified of our scholars actively giving back to their university community by going above and beyond to improve the experience of fellow students. This is just one of many examples of our scholars taking steps to building meaningful positive relationships in the UK.

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