Kate Eliza Jane Lally

Member of the Dean's List, class of 2023

Kate has been a fantastic contributor to her community, truly embracing student life. In addition to winning a place on the Dean’s List, Kate was the top academic performer out of every student on her degree programme, based on weighted average grade. 

Supporting good causes

Kate has repeatedly combined a commitment to her hobbies with opportunities to support charitable causes. With her singing school The Voice Academy, she rehearsed and performed in a Christmas concert to raise money for the Bluebell Wood Hospice. She actively pursued her singing hobby by entering her first ever singing exam, and achieved the highest grade category of ‘Distinction’ in the University of West London ‘Musical Theatre - Grade 8’ examination. 

Amongst her many varied fundraising activities, Kate decided to join the Student Fight Night in aid of the Oddballs Foundation. She took an active role at the event as a Ring Girl and Promoter, to help raise money and awareness for this testicular cancer charity. 

As an active member of the University’s Sabrecats Stunt Cheerleading Club in the Gold squad, Kate grew her team working skills and resilience during training sessions, which she attended up to three times per week. She represented the University at three national competitions, helping the Gold team to reach third place in their division at Birmingham. When the Club hosted a fundraiser for The Children’s Hospital Charity in Sheffield, Kate was an active participant, leading a training event for the Rugby Union team to teach them stunting practice. 

To support inherited sight loss charity Retina UK, Kate successfully auditioned to participate in Sheffield’s largest charity fashion show, Runway Idol. She attended two months of rehearsals and modelled in the runway event, taking this opportunity to get to know beneficiaries and fellow supporters of the charity.

Commercially aware

Kate explored numerous avenues to increase her employability during her studies. Upon a recommendation from her lecturer, she put together a team to enter the University Business Challenge. Her team succeeded in the initial qualifying challenge and ran a virtual business over several weeks as part of the first round of competition. 

Connecting her existing skills and knowledge with her commitment to social responsibility, Kate leveraged her past employment experience in the recruitment industry to support her classmates. She offered proofreading support and advice to her fellow classmates whilst they underwent the job search, interview and CV writing process. 

In her part-time role at Costa Coffee, Kate contributed to the launch of a summer drinks campaign from a ground-floor perspective. In addition to her normal role, she organised several fundraising activities for the Costa Foundation, including an Easter tombola and a Barbie-themed weekend. 

To cement her employable skills Kate successfully applied for and completed a Creative Skills Internship with Studio Self-Made, through which she further developed her personal branding, improved her commercial awareness and expanded her creative portfolio.