Natalie Shoup and Carlotta Ehrenzeller

Peer Support

Natalie Shoup and Carlotta Ehrenzeller were jointly nominated multiple times for their work as student representatives for the Education, Globalisation and International Development MPhil.

Natalie and Carlotta have not only been outstanding, but have also gone beyond what is expected in this voluntary role. Realising that information on acadmic and extracurricular activities taking place was being sent by multiple different colleagues, making it difficult to keep track of all the possibilities, they generated a weekly newsletter collating all of these details into a fantastic colour-coded format. They took the initiative to collect weekly attendance data and inform the Route Coordinator of peers who were not actively engaged in lectures or activities.Two students were accordingly contacted to check whether they were okay, resulting in their Colleges and the Faculty being aware much earlier than otherwise that they both required additional support.

They gathered feedback from their peers at the end of each term, again on their own initiative, and organised meetings to discuss this with the Route Coordinator and agree action points. Their feedback reports contained both quantitative and qualitative narratives, as well as their insights from discussion with peers. They organised a study group for the Easter Term when there are no taught sessions, which has been dynamic and well-attended.

Overall, they have been fantastic and efficient communicators, successfully bridging staff and students and developing a productive relationship with staff running the MPhil course. They were always attentive to any problem, issue or doubt amongst the students, advocating if needed, and providing friendly peer support which helped to build the class team spirit.

Natalie Shoup and Carlotta Ehrenzeller are both MPhil Candidates at the Faculty of Education.