Humans of Portsmouth - Anwar's Story

Anwar was born in Accra, the capital of Ghana, before moving to Southampton with his mum when he was 6 years old. Anwar experienced a lot of racism and ended up moving to Millbrook which is somewhere he still has links to to this day. He attended the University of Portsmouth where he was a Course Representative before becoming a Faculty Representative, Chair of the Student Council and eventually Chair of the Board of Trustees for UPSU! 

University wasn’t always his initial plan, but at 20, Anwar decided it was time for a change. “I wanted something new, a new challenge, but then I thought, you know what, screw it, I’ll go to university.”

When he first arrived, things didn’t quite go to plan. Covid made meeting people much more challenging, and by the beginning of his second year, he was already considering dropping out.

For Anwar, joining the Criminology Society proved to be a massive turning point in his university journey. Not only did he progress from Treasurer to Vice President and eventually President in his final year, he also became Vice President of the Pool Society and took on roles within the Politics Society! Through joining societies, he was able to meet new people and gain confidence in new areas that he would’ve never learnt about had it not been for the Union. “If I could give advice to my younger self, I would say, join a society and become a course representative. Those two decisions completely transformed my university experience. They helped me understand how the University works and gave me a real sense of belonging.”

Anwar’s involvement with the Union led to Anwar becoming Democracy & Campaigns Officer at the Students’ Union for two years. It was this role that completely changed his view of politics. “When I first started, I was like: I hate politics. I hate politics. I hate politics. Then I got this job, and the whole job is literally just politics.” Thanks to this experience, Anwar was able to consider politics within his future career. “Now I'm like, do I want to do this with a whole city? Yes! I can make a massive difference if I become a councillor, or even an MP.” This passion for politics has continued beyond university. Anwar joined the Labour Party in Southampton and serves as the BAME Officer for Labour in Southampton, taking steps towards a future in politics.

His experience of student elections had already given him a taste of what a future within politics could look like. “The election night on my second run was one of the best experiences of my life. After campaigning for three weeks, with all the stress and feeling like, ‘Oh, I'm not gonna win, I'm not gonna win’, having your name mentioned on stage was one of the best experiences.”

But behind these massive wins, Anwar was also dealing with a lot in his personal life. During his final year, he experienced severe depression and decided to take a year out. He lost his dad, followed by both of his grandparents, while also trying to complete his dissertation and campaign in student elections.“Everything came in at once and I couldn’t juggle it all. I was also running for elections, but I was in bed and I just could not do anything. But somehow, I got through it.”

longside these struggles, he also experienced panic attacks. “I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. I couldn’t breathe, my heart was pounding. The ambulance told me I was having a panic attack, and I was literally like: what’s that?” Despite the initial shock, over time, Anwar learned to recognise what was happening and how to manage it. 

During this challenging time, the Students’ Union was there to support him through this difficult time. “I reached out to the Students’ Union Advice team, and they supported me by explaining my options and the services available. Through them, I was able to access student support services, which made a huge difference.”

From unsuccessful elections to missing out on society committee positions, Anwar faced plenty of setbacks. But he kept trying. “Everyone fails. I failed multiple times. My first election, I lost, and look at me now.”

Looking back, Anwar feels his university journey was his time where he found himself, and he’s grateful he didn’t drop out!