In an interview published on 9 September, Sam Gyimah MP (1995, PPE) has told the Independent that Somerville College offered him vital support during his undergraduate years, enabling him to complete his degree before embarking on a career that has seen him rise to ministerial rank in the coalition government.
In the interview, he recounted how an approach by the College Bursar persuaded him to explain that he was struggling financially at Oxford – he could not afford to pay his rent.
“So they converted my entire rent for while I was there into a loan which I subsequently paid when I graduated. Since then I’ve been involved with the college helping raise bursary funds for disadvantaged students,” Gyimah told The Independent.
Gyimah attended a state school in Ghana and a state comprehensive in Hertfordshire before winning a place at Oxford to read PPE. He was elected President of the Oxford Union and worked for Goldman Sachs after graduation.
HE is now a minister at the Department for Education, with special responsibility for early years, early intervention and childcare.
“It is very exciting to be in this job because I know the role education has played in my own life and now I have the opportunity to show how it can make a difference in the lives of others,” he said.
The full article is accessible on the Independent’s website.In an interview published on 9 September, Sam Gyimah MP (1995, PPE) has told the Independent that Somerville College offered him vital support during his undergraduate years, enabling him to complete his degree before embarking on a career that has seen him rise to ministerial rank in the coalition government.