LEAP Impact Report 2022/3

Getting started Leadership, Enterprise & Adventure at Pembroke

IMPACT REPORT 2022/3

YR1

350

attend at trai sessi

NUMBERS

£20K+

9

assigned to adventures and internships

interns placed

100%

90

of our first year’s targets met

hour mento convers

0+

94%

15

dances ining ions

skills sessions rated good to excellent

students in the first LEAP cohort

0+

rs of oring sations

4

5

new internships created

adventures organised

8

2

strategic partnerships created

part time staff still smiling!

• To blend conventional careers support and mentoring with a broader concern for life experiences.

We were keen to avoid too mechanistic a definition of who might benefit from the tailored support that LEAP offers.

Indicators of social disadvantage are vital contextual

The LEAP (Leadership, Enterprise and Adventure at Pembroke) Programme helps students develop their confidence and career prospects through training, events, mentoring, networking, internships and growth opportunities.

information, but we recognise that some students who are not thus disadvantaged would benefit hugely from building their confidence in their own voice and purpose. As such, cohort selection was blended with recommendations from students’ Tutors and Directors of Studies. This was facilitated by the level of personal knowledge Pembroke has of its students as individuals.

LEAP’s impact stretches beyond just the cohort we induct as many of the sessions are available to all students. But for

Introduction

those on the programme, LEAP provides a comprehensive set of skills and support to identify career and personal aspirations and enact them. Pembroke has been able to help LEAP students to get the internships they need and we very much hope our alumni and corporate partners will continue

The initial vision for LEAP, generously instigated and funded by Andy and Cindy Crossley, was a scheme that offered students the chance to adventure, to challenge themselves

students as the programme becomes embedded in the life of the college.

by going on some sort of learning experience beyond their

This impact review reflects on our “soft launch” year for

degree. In the intangibles from such experiences, under-

LEAP. While there are many details we will adjust for future

graduates may grow in confidence and in their ability to

years and many iterations to make, the overall picture is

secure the career pathways they want and merit. From this

clear: those who we recruited as our first cohort of LEAP

kernel the LEAP project has evolved, but the core planks of

students saw the programme as transformative and the

the initial vision remain in place, namely:

next year group coming into their second year are eager

• To see our undergraduates holistically, not just as students taking a Tripos; • To offer students with less confidence support and opportunities to flourish and build the skills they will need on leaving Pembroke;

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to be able to offer these life-changing opportunities to LEAP

to participate and grasp the opportunities LEAP can offer them. LEAP is, then, rapidly becoming another very special part of life at Pembroke.

Prof Robert Mayhew Senior Tutor

I dearly wish that something like the LEAP Programme had been available to me when I was a student here at Pembroke, half a century ago.

A programme that gives students the chance to hear from alumni about their experiences in the world and the challenges they’ve had to face, that offers the opportunity of internships and the chance to share some of that experience, that encourages students to broaden their horizons and discover things about themselves they never knew. LEAP has had its start, this past year, and many of our students have already been deriving enormous benefit and encouragement from it.

This report is a reflection on how that year has gone, and what the future of the programme looks like.

I often quote to our students at their Matriculation Dinner the wonderful observation that Michelangelo made: “The danger is not that our aim is too high and we fail; it is that it is too low and we succeed.” LEAP is all about giving our students the confidence and experience they need in order to aim high. There can be few better ambitions than this.

Lord Chris Smith, Master of Pembroke College Photo: Barbara Luckhurst

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OUR FOUNDERS LEAP was born from our belief that confidence is essential for success in all parts of our lives.

We all need confidence to take the leap and make friends, achieve academically, build a career and ultimately lead a full and interesting life. To be more precise, the journey to building confidence is the critical element. Whether every stage of that journey is successful or not, we become stronger from our efforts, perseverance and progress.

We designed LEAP to help develop that confidence, step-by-step. LEAP helps students understand their strengths, build their networks, gain life experience beyond University and see the world through a wider lens. With input from many experts from the ‘world outside’, and drawing on our combined access to alumni and companies, we aim to support Pembroke students – who have already demonstrated their academic potential – in becoming leaders in their chosen fields.

By extension, our aspiration for LEAP is to make it the country’s leading university co-curricular programme, and, more broadly, to act as a beacon for other educational institutions to follow suit.

Andy and Cindy Crossley →

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The LEAP team has delivered an outstanding programme in the first year, and we’re very thankful that the Pembroke Fellowship and Development team shares our vision.

We look forward to the future of LEAP with great confidence.

CONTENTS YEAR 1 Developing confidence

8

One to one coaching

12

Gaining vital experience

14

Broadening horizons

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with key skills training

THE TEAM Dr Kate Parsley Interim Director of LEAP Kate manages the Corporate Partnership Programme and has overseen the LEAP programme since its inception.

A plant molecular biologist by training, Kate has held roles at NIAB and at the Universities of Adelaide and Cambridge.

and mentoring

through internships

via unique adventures

She has a PhD from Darwin College, Cambridge and was made a Bye-Fellow of Pembroke in 2023.

Hannah Wilson LEAP Programme Manager Hannah has managed the LEAP Programme since June 2022. She started her career in NGOs, working for Oxfam GB and Amnesty International in the UK and overseas.

Hannah was a Senior Development Officer at Pembroke before transitioning to the LEAP role. She studied Modern History at the University of Oxford.

YEAR 2 Our plans for 2023/4

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Governance

22

Acknowledgements

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YR 1 TOPICS & HOSTS Introducing LEAP

DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE with key skills training

The Master Eben Upton – Founder of Raspberry Pi Rhianna Ilube – Playwright & Campaigner

Overcoming impostor syndrome Gemma Brown

Persuasive public speaking Simon Hall

Discovering your motivations Confidence comes in part from being in a position of

Aryanisha Lawes

knowledge. We have delivered a series of sessions that help

Skills that employers look for

address some of the areas that were identified by students as gaps in their knowledge or experience during a survey in the LEAP pilot. In addition to sessions that developed areas such as communication skills, we also helped address the uncertainty that some of our students have with either identifying a possible career or with understanding how to get a foothold in their desired career.

Much of the skills and careers activity available elsewhere in Pembroke and the University focuses on ‘harder’ skills

Overcoming obstacles and developing personal resilience Dr Olivia Remes

Finding an internship The Careers Service

Preparing for internships

and provides advice on, for example, CV drafting or

Denise Taylorson

producing a LinkedIn profile. We chose to focus the LEAP

Working in the Civil Service

skills strand on the so-called ‘softer’ (but no less important) skills. This is where Pembroke can convene alumni and others from our network to add greater value to our students. A key aim for LEAP is to inspire. Pembroke alumni, who serve as relatable role models, are invited back to demonstrate that the aspirations of our students are achievable.

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Lucy Romijn

Sophie Reece-Gadhvi

Entrepreneurship Sir Lloyd Dorfman

PhD Internships Molly Rowlands

Sir Lloyd Dorfman speaking to students about entrepreneurship

“ We discussed confidence,

“ The students found that sharing with

Denise Taylorson: Preparing for internships

Gemma Brown: Overcoming impostor syndrome

making a good impression, adjusting to a professional setting and networking – and figured out strategies to address these issues.

I shared my own contacts and have been in touch subsequently with the students to follow up. ”

others had a positive impact on their overall confidence – knowing that they are not alone. The workshop also helped them to understand how and when their impostor syndrome has the greatest impact, empowering them to take steps to feel more confident in those moments. ”

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PARTNERING WITH THE UNIVERSITY CAREERS SERVICE

From the very start, the Careers Service has been hugely supportive of LEAP. When designing the programme we were keen to avoid duplicating activities and resources that were already available to students. The Careers Consultant linked to Pembroke, Lucy Romijn, immediately understood the programme’s goals and has helped to identify areas for collaboration and mutual benefit.

“ Working with Pembroke to develop the

LEAP programme has been a great example of how colleges and the Careers Service can work together in a mutually beneficial way. In collaborating on LEAP, we’ve been able to advise on the range of support, events and resources offered by the Careers Service to signpost students effectively to what i s already on offer. This has enabled us to focus on tailored support that will add value to the LEAP cohort and wider student body of Pembroke. ”

Lucy Romijn, Careers Consultant University Careers Service A pop-up career counselling event →

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2022 Speed-Networking Session

WORKING ALONGSIDE LIFE BEYOND PEMBROKE Pembroke has over 10,000 alumni who have gone on to be successful in a wide range of careers and industries. The Life Beyond Pembroke programme includes talks, workshops, an annual BAME Future Leaders Event and Speed-Networking sessions run by Sarah Richey in the Development and Alumni Office.

The programme aims to help students make connections with our amazing and eclectic network of alumni, welcomes alumni back to the College to talk about their careers since graduating and offers practical advice to current students and recent graduates.

LEAP cohort members are encouraged to attend Life Beyond Pembroke events and to connect with alumni via the Pembroke Online Community.

Please visit: pembrokeonlinecommunity.org 11

“ Engaging as a mentor on the LEAP

ONE TO ONE COACHING and mentoring

Mentors from the Pembroke alumni community and beyond have provided 1:1 sessions with our LEAP cohort,

programme at Pembroke College has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience. I received a warm welcome from the team and was well informed by the high quality and relevance of the guidelines and advice. As with the LEAP programme itself, flexibility is built in and there is appropriate space given to co-create outcomes according to individual needs. I am looking forward to continuing as a supporter of this valuable programme. ”

Ian Carry , LEAP Mentor

supporting them with exploring career options, helping them to make connections with their networks, and building their confidence. Each member of our LEAP cohort has been carefully matched with an experienced mentor, and guidance has been provided to the mentor and mentee in building their relationship and making the most of the opportunity - on both sides.

Mentors meet with their LEAP student once a month for at least six months with a defined outcome from the mentorship. Some students have used this opportunity to prepare for internships or job interviews, some have asked their mentors for help improving their CV, some have spent time considering their aspirations and exploring what they might want to do after they graduate.

“ Ian was a really fantastic mentor for

me. I went into the mentoring process lacking a solid idea on what I desired from a career, and he was able to give me pointers to consider what I genuinely found important. I certainly wasn’t looking for the one and only answer to my career questions, and Ian was able to take that on board, giving me a more holistic view of careers and ensuring that I direct my post-Cambridge search for jobs towards a wide range of things that are important to me rather than what I think I should be doing. ”

Josh, 2nd year Natural Sciences

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BY BECOMING A MENTOR YOU’LL HELP TO SHAPE A STUDENT’S LIFE “ I’ve seen first-hand how impactful

DELL STEM ASPIRE We piloted joining Pembroke’s Corporate Partner Dell’s female mentorship programme, STEM Aspire.

Its aim is to encourage and empower enthusiastic students studying STEM based degrees to have rewarding careers in the technology sector.

“ My mentor knows my personality

and my character. I feel much more at ease and have a wider viewpoint on the world of industry and corporates which would have otherwise been a plunge into darkness. ”

Natasza, recent graduate Psychology & Behavioural Sciences

the mentoring programme is to LEAP participants. From challenging and developing thinking around future goals, to providing support to turn this into an actionable plan, before moving to more practical coaching around CV writing, applications and interview practice it’s transformative. Equally, if not more, important is working to help students develop the self-belief and confidence to bounce back when there are the inevitable knockbacks, learn from them and continue to persevere to achieve success rather than to give up. ” Charlotte Bradshaw LEAP Mentor & Oversight Group Member

If you’re interested in mentoring a LEAP student, we’d be delighted to hear from you! Please email us at: LEAP@pem.cam.ac.uk

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GAINING VITAL EXPERIENCE

THE CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP The opportunity

through internships

A key aspect of the LEAP programme is to help students explore their career options and build their confidence from experience. Many LEAP students arranged their own internships and we also developed bespoke internships with some of our Corporate Partners, alumni and network of contacts. Internships were intended to provide real-world practical experience and support students to explore a variety of roles or aspects of the organisation to help them identify what they would and, just as importantly, would not like to do in future.

In preparation for the internships, each student was offered a 1:1 session with experienced careers coach Denise Taylorson and afterwards offered a reflective interview with Pembroke Fellow Professor Geoff Hayward. These aimed to help students feel confident before their first day and ensured they made the most of the learning opportunity. In order to ensure no student was disadvantaged by taking an internship, seven internship grants totalling over £4,300 were provided to support accommodation, travel and clothing.

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CISL matched Carys’ interests in policy formulation, social inequality and the interaction between political decision-making and sociological trends.

Preparing for success Emma and Carys had several online meetings to understand Carys’ interests and development goals, and Emma shaped the internship accordingly – designing it to develop Carys’ personal network and networking skills and to help her to feel more confident speaking with leaders. Carys also had a 1:1 session with careers coach Denise Taylorson before her internship and received an internship grant.

Internship insights Learning implicit aspects about working environment etiquette and the organisation and team culture.

CASE STUDY “ I have loved my time at Cambridge

Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

The work experience has been so varied and insightful. It has made me realise what type of work I am interested (and less interested) in! The team at CISL are inclusive and welcoming and the six weeks flew by. ”

Carys, 2nd year HSPS Skills developed and knowledge gained

Photo: Chris Loades Photography

• increased speaking confidence

AN EMPLOYER’S PERSPECTIVE

• recognised need for attention to detail

“ Hosting a LEAP intern was a great

• improved time management

• fed into improved event strategy • improved understanding of organisation culture • software training and implementation • enhanced problem solving

experience for CISL, Carys slotted straight into the team and made an impact from day one. We’re delighted to support the LEAP programme’s aims whilst gaining valuable and tangible outputs for our organisation. ”

Emma Cutting, CISL Community Manager

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VITAL EXPERIENCE FROM ADDITIONAL INTERNSHIPS administered through the Tutorial Office. This was used to

• volunteering programme with non-profit organisation Coins For Change Vietnam

support students not from the LEAP cohort for a variety

• participation in a teaching programme in China

Some funding was set aside for ‘non-LEAP’ internships and

of opportunities including: • Operation Wallacea expedition

• participation in ‘High Flying English’ programme in Paltinis resort, Romania with English Cool Camp

• Helen Edwards Summer Internship at Fermilab

• teaching English to children in rural Vietnam - GoToCo Charity

• field course in Borneo

• unpaid internship at the semiconductor manufacturing plant Kioxia Iwate in Japan

• internship in Singapore • legal internship

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• Young Associate at Babylon Arts in Ely and Student Art Producer at AutoItalia in Bethnal Green, London

“ I was able to contribute to ongoing

scientific research for the conservation of birds, amphibians, and lemurs, as well as marine wildlife such as fish and turtles. This was a great career experience, helping me to confirm what I want to do in the future and make connections in the right places to allow this to happen. ”

Hazel , 2nd year Natural Sciences Operation Wallacea expedition

TESTING WORK SHADOWING In order to test other ways of gaining vital experience, one of our Corporate Partners, Roche, developed a 2-week work-shadowing itinerary. This was for a Natural Sciences student to gain a good overview of many of the aspects of a pharmaceutical business and the opportunity to experience the day-to-day operational side.

This was successful and we’d like to explore this as an option for more students in future.

COULD YOU OFFER AN INTERNSHIP? Our internship providers have universally found that hosting a LEAP student has been a positive experience, and the impact on our students has been huge.

The small print We ask internship providers to co-create the opportunity with the student and to offer at least 6 weeks of work paid at least the National Living Wage. Internship providers are encouraged to give an authentic experience and to provide at least some in-person interaction. Ideally, internship providers will support the students to develop during the internship and reflect on the experience afterwards and help them to articulate their role and activities on their CV. Could you help?

In 2023-24 we have a cohort of 18 students with a wide variety of career interests who will be looking for practical work experience and personal development opportunities. To find out more about hosting an intern please email us on LEAP@pem.cam.ac.uk

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2023 ADVENTURERS Student:

BROADENING HORIZONS

Country:

via unique adventures

Student:

Focus:

Country: Focus:

Campbell 2wks in Peru Trekking in the Andes Alex 2.5wks in South Korea Photography, filming & travel writing

The independence and confidence gained from travelling and stepping out of our comfort zone cannot be overstated, and indeed was the starting

Student:

point for LEAP – could we develop a programme that

Country:

expanded our students’ horizons and developed their leadership qualities?

Focus:

In our soft-launch year, we asked our LEAP cohort

Georgie 3wks in USA Cultural immersion & visiting universities

to apply for awards of up to £2,500 to undertake an adventure and gave some examples of the types of trip we thought they might take. Students were

Student:

asked to consider how the adventure might develop

Country:

independence, build confidence or help their future

Focus:

career. We were blown away by the quality and range of the applications and funded five adventures.

Over the summer of 2023, our LEAP cohort have been gaining experiences that they would likely otherwise not have been be able to undertake and have been developing new skills, knowledge and confidence.

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Student: Country: Focus:

Josh 2.5wks Spain & Portugal Language course & travelling Juliette 3wks Dominican Republic Volunteering at NGO

Campbell at the start of his trek in Peru

“ My LEAP adventure helped me

develop more confidence in myself and more clarity in my career direction.

It enabled me to step outside of my comfort zone and lead in a way that I had always been scared to. All thanks to the programme. ”

Juliette, 2nd year History

“ My time in Peru threw me in the

deep end of a new culture and world of adventure. Having completed a five day solo hike there, I feel much more independent, confident and capable of taking on similar challenges in the future. The experience was a completely unforgettable immersion in the history and language of the people and the intense mountain terrain of the region. ”

Campbell, PhD Theoretical Physics

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2023/4 PLANS COHORT RECRUITMENT Key objective: Improve the individual experience

FUNDING

mentors – helping them to explore

need to recruit our cohort earlier

and develop their career plans and

and to select students at the end

helping us to shape an internship

of their first year. This will give

that provides better opportunities

us more time to understand the

for enhanced learning and growth,

needs of the individual student and

and considering how an adventure

provide them with additional time

can further expand this to best

to work with coaches and their

effect.

We are incredibly grateful that

the offering to our small cohort

the seed funding for LEAP has

with additional donations,

been given for 3 years initially.

and we are actively thinking

Key objective:

This enables us to develop and

about how we can expand the

Identify the ongoing funding requirements

start to create a reproducible

programme to increase the

and sustainable programme with

number and type of students

confidence. Already we can see

that we can support with their

ways in which we can improve

careers and confidence.

The feedback from our soft-launch

Michaelmas to understand what

year skills sessions will be used to

leadership skills areas they would

develop a refined and improved

like us to focus on and schedule

programme of activities for all

these at appropriate times, being

students and our cohort. We have

mindful of not adding too much to an

already recruited the LEAP cohort

already intense term-time schedule

of 18 students for 2023-2024 and

and focussing on areas that will also

will work with them early in

help them with their academics.

SKILLS TRAINING Key objective: Develop a tailored and sustainable programme to build knowledge

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Our biggest learning has been the

MENTORING

The mentoring strand of the LEAP

It is also a development opportunity

programme is critical; it helps

for our alumni and mentors, and

to consolidate the knowledge

helps to continue to include our

Key objective:

gained from the skills sessions;

members in the life of the College.

Promote fulfilling interactions that benefit both mentor and mentee

actively prepares students for their

The mentor matching process is

internships and adventures; and

currently time-consuming but by

encourages reflection to ensure

recruiting our cohort earlier we

their learnings are captured.

hope this will be easier.

Of all the aspects of the LEAP

terms of administration and

programme, internships and

ensuring individuals’ development

INTERNSHIPS

adventures have probably had the

needs are best addressed. Testing

Key objective:

steepest learning curve – this will

work-shadowing as an alternative

Enhance the experiential learning opportunities

inform our design and delivery of the

approach was successful and we will

programme next year. We will work

look to encourage more shorter-

with intern providers to develop the

term but broader experience

internship programme both in

opportunities where appropriate.

Our first intrepid LEAP adventurers

inspire them to apply to undertake

all met with Professor Geoff

equally challenging and beneficial

ADVENTURES

Hayward to reflect on their time

adventures. We will continue

Key objective:

overseas and help us to understand

to refine this aspect of the

Explore and better understand how travel can help meet LEAP’s aims

how this aspect of LEAP has

programme, particularly by

impacted their confidence and

exploring ways to support students

careers. They will be invited to talk

who don’t already have a clear

to our next cohort of students and

adventure in mind.

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2022/3 GOVERNANCE 2 groups formulate our strategy and review our impact

LEAP financials 2022-23

Oversight Group: Robert Mayhew Senior Tutor (Chair) Kate Parsley (Secretary) Charlotte Bradshaw External Careers Coach Caroline Burt Director of Admissions & Fellow

44% Internship & Adventure grants

Andy Crossley Founder

15%

Cindy Crossley Founder

Marketing & events

Geoff Hayward Emeritus Fellow Matthew Mellor Development Director Hannah Wilson LEAP Programme Manager

41%

Steering Group:

Employee salaries

Kate Parsley (Chair) Hannah Wilson (Secretary) Becky Coombs College Registrar Amber Cuttill Deputy Director of Admissions Loraine Gelsthorpe Tutor for Graduate Affairs

a generous donation to the College from Pembroke alumnus Andy Crossley (1986) and Cindy Crossley, and further

Carys Myers JPC Access Officer

supported by the College. As much funding as possible is

Sarah Richey Senior Development Officer (Alumni & Student Engagement)

provided as direct support to LEAP cohort students.

Molly Rowlands GPC Access Officer

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The LEAP Programme has been established in response to

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you

Andy Crossley

Barbara Dotse

Elizabeth Lovat

Nina Rhodes

LEAP is grateful to a huge

Cindy Crossley

Julie Duncan

Mirren Mace

Sarah Richey

John Durrell

Jonathan Mantle

Lucy Romijn

James Anderson

Frankie Enticknap

Sally March

Molly Rowlands

Andy Baughan

Robin Franklin

Robert Mayhew

Marius Scholtz

Katy Bennett

Loraine Gelsthorpe

Matthew Mellor

Max Silin

- the list here includes many

Jenny Blakesley

Martine Goncalves

Karen Milne

Natasza Siwinska

of our supporters but we

Juan Block

Jenna Govier

Stuart Moore

Dick Skelt

apologise if some may have

Anne Bourgeois-Vignon

Charlotte Granville-Brown

Sasha Morgan

Janette Skinner

been missed inadvertently.

An extra special thanks goes

Nami Morris

Lord Chris Smith

Charlotte Bradshaw

Genny Grim

Carys Myers

Gemma Brown

Simon Hall

Robert Specterman-Green

Rachael Burcher

Geoff Hayward

have been patient while we

Caroline Burt

Wan Hong

developed the programme,

Ian Carry

their experience and feedback

number of people who have helped the Programme in a variety of ways as we piloted activities in 2021-2022 and soft-launched in 2022-2023

to Caroline Burt who first designed the programme and our first LEAP cohort who

Kerry Nicholson Pete Nisbet

William Spence Gavin Stevenson

Jeanette Hurworth

Aleksandra Njagulj

Holly Story

Matt Castle

Rhianna Ilube

Joanne Parsons

Denise Taylorson

Andrew Cates

Stella James

Tim Passingham

Kath Teal

experience for the cohorts to

Jemima Coleman

Cath Jeffries

Jeff Patmore

Adam Terry

come. Programmes such as

Becky Coombs

Abby Jitendra

Tim Pick

Mariola Thorpe

LEAP are undoubtedly a team

Prune Corel

Jamila Khalil

Michael Pritchard

Amber Cuttill

Rob Kinnear

Libby Prodger

Katrine Tilgaard Petersen

Emma Cutting

Michaela Koseoglu

Catherine Rawlings

Sandie Townsley

helped the programme get

Farrukh Dhondy

Phil Kwok

Sophie Reece-Gadhvi

Eben Upton

off the ground.

Sir Lloyd Dorfman

Aryanisha Lawes

Olivia Remes

Lorna Walker

has helped shape and immeasurably improved the

effort – we would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has

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Take the LEAP– Unlock your potential

Contact us: leap@pem.cam.ac.uk Visit our website: pem.cam.ac.uk/LEAP Connect with us: leappembroke PembrokeLEAP leap-pembroke Find us: Pembroke College Cambridge

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