On Tuesday 31st May, Royal Holloway hosted its first in-person volunteering awards since the pandemic. This was an opportunity to celebrate and congratulate the many volunteers who contributed to student-led social action projects or out in the wider community throughout the previous academic year.
Ms Jayden Bookout (Criminology and Psychology) was awarded with the Outstanding International Student Award at the Royal Holloway Volunteering Awards 2022.
As the name suggests, this award is exclusive to international students who have participated in volunteering while attending Royal Holloway, University of London. Additionally, Ms Bookout also received the Volunteering Inspired v100 Award which is given to any student who has logged at least 100 hours of service this year. In fact, Ms Bookout totaled an amazing 250 hours of volunteering over the considered period.
In commenting the award, Ms Bookout said: “Volunteering has been an integral aspect of my time at Royal Holloway, University of London. In my first year, I joined the response team and delivered food parcels to self-isolating students during lockdown. This was on an ad-hoc basis but I enjoyed doing it so much that I knew I wanted to continue on with volunteering.
At the end of my first year, I was asked to interview for a project leader position. In September 2021, I joined the Nature Conservation social action project. Since then, I have participated in other project’s events, worked on community research opportunities, and volunteered with multiple community partners”.
Ms Bookout acknowledges that at times it had been challenging to balance volunteering service with academic commitments. However, she also highlights the importance of giving back to others. In speaking of her volunteering experience, Ms Bookout says that it had been something to look forward to and put effort in besides coursework and exam preparation.
“Volunteering has provided me with experiences in the sectors I am interested in pursuing and I am constantly improving old skills and gaining new ones. I do highly recommend volunteering to any and every student. There are a range of opportunities available and there really is something for everyone.”
Once again, congratulations to Ms Bookout for her service, and for being such an inspirational figure to current and future students at the Department of Law and Criminology!
