Bristol activist wins Diana Award for helping first-in-family students

Alaya Holloway set up a social enterprise group called First Gens to break socio-economic barriers

A young education activist says she is honoured to receive the Diana Award for her work supporting first-generation university students succeed.

Bristol based Alaya Holloway, 24 is the first person in her immediate family to pursue a Bachelors degree.

As a result, Ms Holloway says she faced numerous barriers to education and contemplated dropping out.

She now runs a social enterprise group to address the challenges faced by first-generation undergraduates.

"When I was 18, I diarised women who inspired me and Princess Diana was on the list," said Ms Holloway.

"She personifies authenticity, acts as a beacon for hope, represents change and as a courageous spokeswomen, she exemplifies strength and social advocacy."

The prestigious Diana Award is the highest recognition for young individuals' outstanding contributions to social action and humanitarian efforts.

Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Award is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons, HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Sussex.

Ms Holloway's social enterprise group has won several awards

Ms Holloway graduated with a bachelors degree in law from the University of the West of England in 2021.

Being the first in her family to go to university, Ms Holloway faced numerous socioeconomic challenges and hurdles which made her journey difficult to navigate.

The overwhelming obstacles led her to contemplate dropping out - a common experience for first-generation students who drop out at higher rates than their peers.

After finding out first in family students were pre-disposed to inequalities in higher education and faced a class pay gap in the professional workplace, she founded 'First Gens' to address these challenges.

She began her work in her third year of university, collaborating with the Prince's Trust research and design specialists to discover the nuances and challenges faced by first-generation students.

First Gens has helped support students from across 25 UK universities

Over four years, they raised £60,000 to develop the social enterprise First Gens, designed to break socioeconomic barriers and provide equal opportunities.

To date, First Gens has supported undergraduates attending 25 UK universities by facilitating grants to students from low-income families during the cost-of-living crisis.

As a result, 90% of students felt empowered to continue onto their second year and the work has helped prevent student dropouts.

Ms Holloway said: "Princess Diana believed that young people had the power to change the world.

"At First Gens, students are harnessing their power to catalyse change."

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