“When I came to the UK, I didn’t know anyone at university and felt quite invisible, but after discovering Greenwich Students’ Union, I felt like I belonged.”
Niel Lewis was born and raised in Guyana, South America, where the value of service was instilled at an early age. “I was brought up by three strong women and became very involved in local politics while at school. I was lucky enough to be mentored by Dr Brian O’Toole MBE and together we embarked on many projects. With the ambition to do more for my community, I set my sights on pursuing a university education in Law.”
Once Niel decided that he wanted to study in London, Greenwich jumped out as the right place to be. “I saw the Innocence Project London (IPL) being based at Greenwich as an opportunity to continue my service in criminal justice and creating change.”
The IPL is a pro-bono organisation that, with the support of Greenwich law and criminology students, investigates alleged wrongful convictions of individuals who have maintained their innocence and have already exhausted the appeals process. Its director and co-founder, Dr Louise Hewitt has been an important figure in Niel’s development.
“Dr Hewitt is not just my personal tutor, but she is also my academic ‘in shining armour’. She accepted me onto the IPL team where I was able to work with Tim Barnes QC on a very real miscarriage of justice. Every step of the way Dr Hewitt has given me the best opportunities, advice and support. I owe her a tremendous debt of gratitude.”
Niel has also recently completed a year as a Greenwich Students’ Union (GSU) Officer. He was inspired to run for office, taking a year out from his degree, after hearing from the then Officers about the work GSU was doing. While in office, Niel has advocated for decolonisation across Greenwich. He has also devoted time to challenging and supporting the University’s approach to sustainability and is proud to see sustainability play a prominent role in our new strategy. “Embedding sustainability as part of every student’s experience will ensure that our university is one that produces climate-conscious citizens.”
On his achievements with GSU, Niel reflects “while I’m proud of our wider achievements like the No-Detriment Policy and Green Ambassador Scheme, I’m most proud of the more specific actions that helped students in a personalised manner – the ones where students felt directly supported and where you could see the impact of the help first-hand.”
Following the conclusion of his GSU term, Niel has returned to campus for the final year of his degree, with enthusiasm for the future for him and his cohort. “It is from our students that I have learned the importance of resilience. Over the past year, students have been brave enough to share their experiences of studying in the face of adversity and uncertainty. We should always remember that we have it in ourselves to be resilient and to bounce back”.
