PhD student and researcher Isabella Campbell Harry shares her experience with sport and fitness at the University of Sussex over the last 7 years. 

“I first started at Sussex in September 2016 as an undergraduate and then followed on to a PhD in 2019. Sussexsport has been a part of that journey since day one. I immediately fell in love with the community here and for the first time in my life, it felt like I found my tribe. 

“I dabbled in everything, from badminton and squash coaching and Active US to almost all the group training classes.” 

She added: “I’ve gone from someone who had never stood foot or felt comfortable in a gym to realising I have every right to be there as someone who has been weightlifting for years. I owe that to the group training classes. They were a safe space where I could learn, make mistakes, and grow in my confidence and fitness. 

“In the almost 7 years since I started at Sussex, I have run marathons, done triathlons, comfortably thrown big weights around in the gym, represented the university in badminton, and gained true community and friendship.  

“My 17-year-old self could have never dreamed to be the empowered person I am today, and I owe a big chunk of that to the how welcomed I felt day one of entering those gym doors. It changed my life.” 

To find out more about the sport and fitness facilities available to staff and students on campus, head over to the Sussexsport webpages.