Student well-being
As well as funding hardship bursaries, the Sussex Fund enables us to provide mental health support to students through access to counselling or similar well-being-related services. Dina was just one of many students to benefit from this. You can read her story below.
Dina was a Chevening Scholar who was studying for a Gender and Development MA at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) at Sussex when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. The isolation and fear that the lockdown brought left Dina suffering from intense anxiety. She reached out and the Sussex Fund was there to help her.
“I am forever grateful to the counsellors at Sussex. The University counselling services showed me so much more support than I had expected. I received 12 sessions of counselling and I was formally diagnosed with anxiety. Between June and August, I got myself back on track with the help and support of the University counsellors, my friends and supervisors. I can’t imagine what would have happened had I not been given that help.
“I don’t know what lies ahead, but what this year has taught me is that I don’t have to know. It also taught me to live in the now and take things one step at a time; to remember to reach out for help, as well as to give help; to cherish the people and love around me; to notice the small things amidst the big ones; and to always listen to my own voice. With everything that has happened, I can safely say, I am still living the dream.”
Promoting well-being and helping students like Dina through difficult times means a student can refocus on their studies and complete their degree. It’s one of the reasons Sussex was named as University of the Year for Student Retention in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022. This award singles out Sussex as the best in the country for supporting students to stay the course and complete their degrees.
Sussex receives very generous support from alumni, staff, students and corporate partners who give to the Sussex Fund. Will you join them by making a donation today and help us to support more students like Dina?