Lauren Jenkins

I am so deeply grateful for all of the support the James Pantyfedwen Foundation has given me throughout the past academic year, with a generous educational grant contributing towards my tuition fees, providing me with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study MSc Sociology at the University of Oxford. All financial barriers and obstacles that often hinder my educational progress were removed thanks to the James Pantyfedwen Foundation's grant, allowing me to reach my full potential by continuing my educational journey and pursuing my academic dreams at a world-renowned university. Thanks to the foundation’s support, I was able to fully immerse myself in the postgraduate course without economic strife, financial concern, uncertainty or stress. 

After graduating with a degree in sociology from Cardiff University, I became determined to further build my sociological knowledge through an intensive one-year master's course at Oxford. Thus, this past academic year, I have been working extensively in the academic arena of sociology, exploring, learning and deepening my overall grasp of the subject and developing a wide range of new academic skills. Additionally, I expanded upon my pre-existing research interests in criminology by studying the sociology of mafias, tracing the formation and emergence of organised crime across Sicily, Post-Soviet Russia, Japan and the United States of America. I also statistically examined the phenomenon of systemic racism, studying police violence at the individual, structural and institutional levels, unearthing the racial oppression that plagues the United States and its consequent impacts on the erosion of the human rights of marginalised populations and communities. Beyond building my sociological knowledge, I also produced a thesis that explored the grossly neglected epidemic of femicide (the murder of women and young girls) in the United Kingdom. I demonstrated that digital discourse surrounding highly publicised and sensationalised femicide cases serve to illuminate the misogynistic and anti-women mentalities that are so deeply interwoven into digital media, which may be a significant factor in the perpetuation of abuse, the normalisation and acceptance of violence against women that thrives societally; contributing to the severe epidemic of femicide that currently torments the UK and the entire globe.  

My MSc studies have put me on the right professional pathway to start my career at the core and heart of the working world of human rights. I hope to begin my professional career and venture into the field by taking on an internship role at the United Nations or other non-profit/non-governmental organisations to address the dire social and political issues of our current social climate. Additionally, I plan on travelling across the globe to volunteer on projects in-person concerning the protection of vulnerable populations, working for the rights of women, children, and directing attention to severely neglected reproductive rights, as well as many other social causes. Altogether, I plan to dedicate my time and entire future to supporting disadvantaged, underprivileged and marginalised groups.  

Without the aid of the James Pantyfedwen Foundation, I wouldn’t have been able to afford nor cover the immense tuition fees to pursue this dream of mine as a working-class student from underprivileged backgrounds. Therefore, the impossible was made possible for me thanks to the James Pantyfedwen Foundation.