#WhyNotMe

Azazea Edwards

A recent Nescot Art student, who is now reading Fine Art at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University

Azezia was offered her place without following the usual route of doing an art foundation year first, and she attributes this to her Art and Design qualification at Nescot.

“Because of the way the course at Nescot is structured and taught, I have a big body of artwork and lots of different styles and techniques. At Nescot we were encouraged to work from a brief, to experiment and to push boundaries, and to expand our ideas with lots of research, and that process has been good preparation for Oxford.”

Azezia finished her Extended Diploma at Nescot with a triple distinction, the highest profile possible and although she wasn’t originally planning to go to Oxford, she liked the approach of Lady Margaret Hall and enjoyed the experience of being interviewed.

“It wasn’t what I was expecting at all,” she said. “The interviewers made me feel really welcome, and we talked about the art I’d created at Nescot, my inspiration, and my hopes for the future.”

“The number one piece of advice I would give someone is to have confidence in themselves and their ideas and their work,” she said. “I try to have the mindset of ‘Why not me?’, because you’ll never find out if you don’t try. It’s an amazing opportunity to study at Oxford, and I’ll be making the most of every day here.”

Louise Gaskin, Head of Creative Arts at Nescot, said: “We’re really proud of Azezia. She was a pleasure to teach, and we look forward to seeing her go from strength to strength in her career.”

Previous graduates of Lady Margaret Hall include Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai and Harper Lee.