Hughes Hall student sets out to inspire others

Katrina, 23, who is studying Social and Political Sciences, will tell Year-12 pupils at La Retraite Roman Catholic School for Girls in Balham that she dropped out of college not once but twice, and was considered “able but distracted” by her teachers.

While other bright pupils from her year group concentrated on their A levels, Katrina spent six months living in a bed and breakfast hotel in King’s Cross, having been made homeless by a family upheaval. She moved five times in as many years.

From the age of 16, she supported herself financially, working as a shop assistant in stores that included Harrods. In order to give herself practical skills, she qualified as a beauty and massage therapist.

Determination to reach her potential spurred Katrina to return to full-time education at the age of 19, and take A levels at City of Westminster College in Maida Vale. She applied to Cambridge as she wanted to “try for the very best” and, having been offered a conditional place, went on to achieve excellent grades – despite working part-time.

Katrina will encourage La Retraite pupils to consider Cambridge as an option and be confident in attitude – and not deterred by thoughts that top institutions might not be “for people like them”.

She describes her family as “having high standards” and “extremely proud of what I’ve achieved”. However, they were not in a position to give her help and advice on higher education when she was a teenager.

“No-one in my family had been to university so there was little understanding of the system. My grandparents on both sides were from Jamaica and had to leave school early to work in agriculture. My parents too left school with few qualifications,” says Katrina.

Katrina has always been independently-minded and she will urge other pupils to be brave enough to aim high and not to give in to peer pressure.

Since arriving at Cambridge Katrina has played an active role in events and initiatives run by Cambridge Admissions Office to encourage more applications to the University from state school pupils, those from “non-traditional” backgrounds and ethnic minorities.

“I think it’s important that bright youngsters utilise all the educational resources available to them,” she says.

“It was a bit of a culture shock to arrive at Cambridge and find myself to be one of relatively few black students. But if you want to progress in most spheres in this country you are likely to find yourself in a white-dominated environment.”

Katrina will tell La Retraite pupils that she has a form of dyslexia, a specific learning difficulty diagnosed only when she started at City of Westminster College. “It was a big relief to realise that I was not alone and was able to receive the right help. At Cambridge I have excellent support from the Disability Resource Centre,” she says.

At Katrina’s Cambridge admissions interviews, one of her interviewees warned her that when they first arrive many Cambridge freshers, who have excelled in their schools and colleges, find that they are “small fish in a large pond”.

She says: “I replied that I was a shark and that sharks like me didn’t live in ponds – we were predators. As I walked out of the interview, I thought I’d really blown it. But a few days later a letter dropped through the door, offering me a conditional place. Clearly they must have thought I was ok.”