Broadcast: News items

Victoria Marrache

A service to commemorate and celebrate Victoria Marrache and her contribution to Sussex will be held at the Meeting House on Friday 24 May at 2pm.

Victoria, who passed away suddenly in January this year, was a Student Advisor in the Division for the Student Experience. Victoria completed a BA in Social Work at Sussex in 2013, and in 2016 she returned to campus as a member of staff. She worked in Housing initially, then became a Student Advisor in 2018. Victoria was very well loved and respected by her colleagues who have said that her lasting contribution to the University will be the many student lives she touched.

At the recent Education Awards Victoria’s partner, Asam, collected an award on behalf of Victoria, where she was a winner in the Inclusive Sussex category. Colleagues showed their appreciation for Victoria with a standing ovation as the award was presented.

Reflections on Victoria

Victoria’s line manager, Rachel Gould said: “Victoria made an immense contribution to the success and experience of hundreds of students and the working life of numerous colleagues. She used her expert helping and advice-giving skills to support our most vulnerable students using a relationship-based, trauma-informed approach. She came alongside students in a way that was attuned to their needs and honoured their stories, and her support significantly alleviated their suffering, sustained them through difficulties and ultimately transformed their lives. 

“Victoria’s innate compassion and diligence were apparent in all her communications and actions. Kindness was her modus operandi. She was thorough, diligent, dogged, brave and wholly committed to her role.”

Colleagues have remembered Victoria as a “force for good,” “a pleasure to be around,” and an “elegant and dignified person” whom they “cherished and admired.”

Dedication and passion

Victoria built particularly close working relationships with her colleagues in the Division for the Student Experience, and with the Student Experience teams in Media, Arts and Humanities, Global Studies and the Institute of Development Studies – her link Schools. She was a force for good on campus, a person whose warmth, energy and – sometimes surprisingly cheeky – humour brought out the best in everybody around her.

Victoria’s passion for her work was recognised both by students and by her peers here at Sussex. She received glowing feedback from students, who always felt she was fully focused on their needs and genuinely cared about them. She was shortlisted for the Sussex Spirit Award in 2021’s Education Awards. In that same year the Student Life Team, of which Victoria was part, won an Extra Mile Award for their exceptional commitment to supporting students through the challenging circumstances brought about by the pandemic.

Part of Victoria’s passion for her work surely stemmed from her delight in seeing others succeed and thrive. More than one of her colleagues have related how joyfully she would celebrate their successes – she was delighted by others’ good news. She dedicated herself to promoting others’ good, to ensuring that so many of our students had good news to share.

Commemorating Victoria’s life

Victoria’s family, some of whom will be attending the memorial service, raised over £4,000 for charities close to her heart in her memory after her death. The charities were: Mind (where she volunteered as a young adult), Crisis (a cause she donated to frequently), RISE (a charity she worked for during and after her Social Work degree) and the RSPCA (another charity she gave to and cared deeply about).

Colleagues from across the University are invited to attend the service. If any colleagues would like to speak at the event to read something or share their memories, please contact Nasim Shakoori by email. Light refreshments will be available after the service. Attendees are invited, but not obliged, to dress in such a way as to incorporate items in pastels and pale colours such as peach and pale pink, reflecting the colours synonymous with Victoria.

Colleagues who are not able to join the event are invited to visit the Meeting House and light a candle for Victoria at any time, or to visit the lasting memorial sculpture that will be installed in the Student Centre courtyard ahead of the memorial service.