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Student leader in the running for Yorkshire Asian Young Achiever Award

Student leader in the running for Yorkshire Asian Young Achiever Award

Posted on 4 November 2022

A student leader at the University of York has been shortlisted in the prestigious Yorkshire Asian Young Achiever Awards 2022.

Ekansh has been shortlisted for Achievement in the not-for-profit sector

Ekansh Kapoor, Vice-President for the Graduate Students' Association, has run a number of student-focused campaigns, including waiving of the continuation fees for postgraduate students.

He also campaigned for family study spaces at the University library and helped set up academic forums to address student concerns.

Dubbed the YAYAs, the awards were launched in 2020 to celebrate young people aged 16 to 30 of South Asian heritage who were born, are living or are working in Yorkshire, and have overcome disadvantages to progress.

Sponsor

The University is sponsoring one of the awards: Achievement in Health/Mental Health and Healthcare.

This year's winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford on Friday, November 11.

Ekansh, 26, who has been shortlisted for Achievement in the not-for-profit sector, said: “I am really honoured to be nominated for a YAYA Award.

“There are some outstanding nominees and it is fantastic to be among such a creative and inspirational group of young people. Work smart, be kind, and amazing things will happen."

Community

Ekansh grew up in Agra, India, and developed a passion for community building and helping those most in need, resulting in an award by the Governor of his state.

He began his Masters in Management with Business Finance at the University of York in January 2021 and was elected as the Vice-President Academic at the Graduate Students' Association for the academic year 2021/22.

The YAYA Awards are organised by the QED Foundation, a registered charity which exists to improve the social and economic position of disadvantaged communities in partnership with public, private and civil society organisations.

Other shortlisted candidates include Benji Chandra, an optometrist who works at York Hospitals and who has been nominated for helping homeless people in Leeds through his voluntary work with Vision Care.

Further information:

Further information on the awards can be found here: www.theyayas.org.uk

The QED Foundation:

QED has been creating opportunities for all since 1990, supporting people of every race and faith to fulfil their potential. Their aim is to help to build a peaceful and cohesive society where everyone can contribute and be rewarded for his or her efforts. They support ethnic minorities to find jobs and progress in their careers, deliver education, training and employment services to disadvantaged communities at neighbourhood level and support government and public sector organisations, businesses and charities across the UK to tackle inequality.