Purpose: To inspire, educate and motivate students on what they can achieve.
If you’re a former Rushey student, we want to hear from you! It doesn’t matter when you left us, whether you’re in further education or employment, whether you still live nearby or have moved further away you are still part of the Rushey family. We believe that your connection with Rushey shouldn’t have to end when you leave and we are excited about reconnecting with you.
We know that among our former students is a whole host of talented role models who we want to connect with in order to celebrate your success and inspire our current students.
We want to see the exciting places our leavers go to and for you to inspire the next generation’s success.
Your experiences since leaving could help to motivate and inspire our current students to feel more confident in making decisions about their future.
We’d love you to join our alumni network and stay connected with our school.
To join our Rushey Family Alumni, just follow this link and fill in the form, we promise it will only take a couple of minutes. https://forms.office.com/e/Cb8CcD8xJp
![‘Alumni are living proof that someone like me can achieve’](https://www.rushey-tmet.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/‘Alumni-are-living-proof-that-someone-like-me-can-achieve.png)
Aaron Valand
2013-2018
I attended Rushey Mead Academy from 2013 to 2018. During my time at Rushey Mead I had many fond memories. My fondest memories include playing football on the field every day, inter-form competitions and becoming a divisional captain in my final year.
After leaving Rushey Mead in 2018, I went on to do my A-Levels at WQE. Here I studied Maths, Business and Economics. These subjects allowed me to pursue a degree in Economics at the University of Leicester. My academic journey has led me to a career in Audit, where I work as an Audit Associate for PwC. Over the years, I have developed skills in project management, having an eye for detail, and innovative problem-solving.
Rushey Mead supported me by providing me with a solid academic foundation to pursue a career in economics. Even though Economics wasn’t a subject taught during my time at Rushey Mead, the skills I gained from my other subjects, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, were invaluable.
I think it’s extremely important that students follow their passion, as this translates onto their work. I will also emphasise the power of networking!! I am very fortunate to work for one of the big 4 accounting firms in the UK and the way I was able to do so was by meeting different people. I would often attend networking events and ask those there what they did at the firm, what they enjoyed about their job and what the firm was currently doing in the industry. By doing so I could holistically decide whether that was a job for me or not. Hence my number one tip would be to be brave! You never know who might be able to help you – and this isn’t just in the working world, it is in life.
Amisha Patel
2014-2019
Through the help and support of staff, I was able to consistently improve in my grades. Teachers were always willing to help and encouraged me to go above and beyond. This has made a difference in my life because now I set high goals for myself and always try to achieve them. Rushey Mead also encouraged me (and all students) to take up opportunities. This allowed me to make the most out of my time at Rushey Mead through afterschool clubs and having roles within the school such as Maths Ambassador, Prefect and divisional captain. Not only did I enjoy these roles, but I also was able to discuss this in applications and interviews for internships and insight weeks in sixth form for JP Morgan and PwC. These experiences influenced my choice to study Economics at university and my decision to work within the financial services industry.
Highly recommend students to follow the Sutton Trust and Social Mobility Foundation on social media. They have many opportunities mainly for Year 12 students, but also pathways to apprenticeship programmes. Being a part of both of these organisations, I have had a 2-week internship at JP Morgan, a summer school at the University of Nottingham, where I am currently studying and training to apply to a US university. As part of the alumni, you get exclusive opportunities, which has allowed me to be a part of a year-long programme with Bloomberg, and is how I have been offered a summer internship with Lloyds Banking Group. All of these opportunities have helped me to reach the path I am on today.
Sonali Dabba
2011-2016
My name is Sonali Dabba. I was a student at Rushey Mead Academy, and finished my studies in 2016. I was a student at Gateway College, where I studied the BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Applied Science and achieved 3 Distinction Stars (D*D*D*), which is equivalent to 3 A*s in A-level. I went to university to study a MChem (Hons) Chemistry with a year in industry degree at the University of Lincoln and recently (September 2023) graduated with a 1st Class Honors. I work as a Scientist at the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
During my time at Rushey Mead Academy I really enjoyed participating in a range of extracurricular activities that were on offer, this included; completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award, being a divisional captain representative, student laboratory technician, subject librarian student support worker, attending the science school at DMU, and completing the Level 2 Sports Leaders award.
In addition, I was recognised for my hard work, dedication and commitment and achieved many awards at Rushey Mead Academy to include; Head Teacher’s and Harborough Shield and Captain awards, outstanding behavior, attitude to learning and 100% attendance awards, Lord Lieutenant’s Young Volunteer and Leicester Mercury’s Community Champion awards, for all the charity events I had organised.
Participating in these activities at Rushey Mead Academy not only helped me to gain the different student leadership badges, but also helped me to gain various skills and knowledge which supported my UCAS application a lot, when applying for colleges.
During my time as a student at university I learned a lot, from stepping out of my comfort zone, making new friends and participating in many opportunities that came my way, such as being a student content creator, UniBuddy ambassador, Chemistry course rep, STEM ambassador and volunteering for open and offer holder days.
My most favourite module at university was professional and personal development. AstraZeneca representatives came to present various challenges such as analysing a batch of Acetaminophen using HPLC, and, developing screening methods for an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). These challenges involved leading and working with a team of Chemists to delegate, plan, design and execute the project, as well as, collating data and writing up technical laboratory reports. At the end of these challenges, me and my team presented the work to a panel of AstraZeneca representatives and academics.
In the lockdown (2021), I completed a summer internship with Eurofins laboratories on Covid-19 research in Surrey. I worked in a laboratory under pressure, time restraints and as part of a large team to process high volumes of incoming SARS-CoV-2-RNA samples, responsible for checking samples for compliance, following cGMP, produced reagents according to COSHH and HSE policies. I also lead the government IPSOS MORI research project, which was a major programme for the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to track the progress and prevalence of the virus across the country.
In addition, as part of my 3rd year dissertation I completed my lab-based research project on the amide synthesis of two members of an mGlu chemical library targeting Schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s. This involved the synthesis of amides in the laboratory to create a glutamate receptor chemical library, which was characterised by in-depth NMR Spectroscopy, FTIR, UV and TLC.
Furthermore, during my final year (4th year) of university I gained a prestigious 1-year laboratory industry placement as an Analytical Chemist at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pharmaceuticals, Barnard Castle. I performed quality control (QC) testing for analytical characterisation on biotherapeutic treatments for a range of cancers, disorders and diseases. I was also responsible for leading a development and validation project on testing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) using a quantitative approach. I gained hands-on experience using state-of-the-art Chemistry instrumentation, worked in a team, communicated technical information to colleagues, analysed, documented and reviewed data to GMP standards.
I work as a Scientist at the Ministry of Defence (MoD), where I protect the citizens of the UK. My role involves delivering high end research through the use of state-of-the art Chemistry instrumentation in the laboratories, and accumulation of specialist knowledge to apply in support of customer projects. I prepare impactful reports and presentations appropriate to the audience, so that research conducted is exploited for the maximum benefit to customers. Work with hazardous materials and chemicals, operating in compliance with all appropriate safety standards and regulations. Develop and maintain professional networks including government, academia and international links. Lead research activities to develop internal and external capabilities.
There are range of skills I use in my role as a scientist at the MoD this involves, communicating in a variety of forms to technical and non-technical colleagues and customers, teamwork, networking with government, and academia across the world, managing time effectively in order to meet deliverables and project outcomes and delegating work to junior members of colleagues.
If you are a current student studying at Rushey Mead Academy, I would definitely recommend you participate in the extracurricular activities and complete the range of awards and leadership badges you can achieve. As taking part in all of this will help you to gain various skills and explore different areas which will really help with your UCAS applications, and will support you with your future career.
Tarang Jethwa
2014-2019
My academic journey started at Rushey Mead Academy, where I developed a passion for engineering through DT classes. My fondest memories include my Year 11 prom and competing at Saffron Lane in athletics. I then pursued further studies in Physics, Maths, Further Maths, and Computer Science at Loughborough College. I’m now a third-year MEng Mechanical Engineering student at The University of Sheffield, preparing for a year-long placement at RJM International in Winchester as a mechanical engineer in power plant consultancy. Rushey Mead’s supportive environment allowed me to develop a variety of skills and hobbies, and the additional maths course helped bridge the gap to A-level maths, enhancing my overall academic progression.
Our careers team can advise our students but you can inform them of the opportunities, and what college, universities, or the workplace is like, You can assist in CV writing college applications, and much more. You can choose how and when you make a difference
Joining the Rushey Family alumni will help to create a community with a wide range of career paths, qualifications, and personal skills. You may only wish to join to reconnect with old friends and attend reunions, however, you could also make a positive difference to our current students if you wish by:
1 – Improving Social mobility – Who better to take advice from than someone who is going through the post-16 process, a university student, or in a career? This is your chance to share your story.
2 – Making a positive difference – Whether you talk in assembly, turn up to a careers fair, or assist in 1:1 tutoring, you will make a huge difference to our students’ post-16 choices. Ultimately, assisting in their career path.
3 – Providing an opportunity to develop – Being part of our Alumni allows you to be the stepping stone for our students. Providing them with the opportunity to develop their skills and confidence as well as improving your CV.
4 – Boosting confidence – Talking to our students about the process of further education, university, jobs, apprenticeships, applications and interview techniques, will not only boost their confidence but their motivation too.
To get involved please email: – [email protected]
- Advise current students on opportunities
- Act as careers & education role models
- Become a mentor in person or online
- Provide work experience opportunities
- Lend support through donations or fundraising
- Volunteer as an academy councillor (school governor)
- Support with mock interviews
- Support with careers events
- Contribute to assemblies in person or online
To get involved in any of the opportunities mentioned above, please email: – [email protected]