“I want Black and minority ethnic students to know that they belong at Imperial and that there’s a place here for them.”
Comfort Oluwakoya is a third year Medical student and is Imperial College Union’s current Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Officer.
Upholding Black voices
Comfort was driven to become the union’s BME Officer as she believes it is vital Black students having a seat at the table and she wants to provide a Black role model for new students.
“I am passionate about social mobility and upholding Black voices. A lot of times I walk into a room, and I am the only Black person in there, and I just think if I wasn’t here, who would be? I want Black and minority ethnic students to know that they belong at Imperial and that there’s a place here for them.”
Creating a welcoming environment for Black and minority ethnic students
Comfort’s main aim as BME Officer is to establish a community across Black and minority ethnic students, creating a welcoming environment and opportunities for networking and socialising. She says that other students can support by turning up to Imperial BME Network events – everyone is welcome!
“Be there to learn more and hold space for other Black and minority ethnic students within the university. Educate yourself on the things that you might do subconsciously or the things that you’re not aware that you’re doing, and seeing how you can make Imperial a better environment.”
Celebrating Black heritage and history
For Comfort, the purpose of Black History Month is to celebrate Black heritage and history, both in the UK and globally, and how Black people came to be in the UK. “I was born and grew up in Nigeria for the first eight years of my life, so the concept of race was something completely new to me coming into this country. I found the idea of having a Black History Month very strange because every month is Black people month where I come from.
“Now, I really appreciate Black History Month because it is very easy to erase Black people in this country as we only make up a small proportion of the population. There’s not that many of us and it is nice to celebrate and focus on us coming together as a community.”
The privilege of practising medicine
With her whole family working in healthcare, Comfort has always had her mind set on medicine.
“It just beats every other career because of the privilege of practising medicine. Even as a student, I can walk into a room where someone’s laying on a table and you are honoured with their trust. As a doctor it is great for meeting people and seeing their journey. It is so unique as a career.”
Knowing that she wanted to stay in London, Comfort chose Imperial because of its reputation, being a STEMB university and its modern medicine curriculum.