Postgraduate student Charlotte Kirkham turned to academia after she was forced to give up her dream of becoming a professional dancer following a major operation on her spine – and ended up being named Keele’s Student of the Year 2024.

Charlotte, who graduated with a first class undergraduate degree in Criminology and Psychology in July, used to train in musical theatre but underwent surgery in 2019 for Bertolotti Syndrome, a condition of the spine that causes pain and reduced mobility in the lower back. Aged just 20, she had to rethink her career plans and explore other options.

Charlotte said, “I had the surgery a week after I turned 20 and thought I’d go in, have the operation and go back to the dance academy where I trained, and everything would be fine. After the operation I could walk quite quickly, but that was about it, and I soon started to realise how long it would take to get back to the level I was at before.

“Within a month, I knew I had to put my health first and find something else to do, so I started to look at going to university. I researched a few and Keele really stood out to me with its combined honour degrees because it allowed me to keep my options open and cover a wider range of subjects.”

During her studies, Charlotte spent more than 800 hours volunteering across a range of activities and initiatives. She led a group of students to set up the KeeleSU Make A Smile charity-affiliated society, where members volunteer to dress as fictional princes and princesses to provide experiences for children with disabilities and illnesses. Through her role as Vice-Captain of the Keele Panthers Cheerleading Club, Charlotte also raised around £4,000 for Team England’s adaptive abilities cheer team to support initiatives promoting inclusivity in sport.

As well as giving up her spare time to fundraise for those less fortunate than herself, Charlotte also volunteered to support her peers as a Lead Student Voice Representative. She was involved in working groups across the University looking to improve the opportunities for students to have their voices heard. Within this role, Charlotte lobbied for clearer assessment feedback and restructured research methods, and her efforts were rewarded when she was named Lead Voice Representative of the Year at the end of the 23/24 academic year.

She said, “Lecturers liked one of my ideas for delivering assessment feedback - to provide examples using in-text comments to supplement their overall feedback, so that students can clearly see what the comments refer to - alongside including guidance on the use of AI within module guides. There also appears to be a greater focus now on the academic skills aspect within modules, including research methods, in plans for courses taking place in September 2025 and beyond.”

Charlotte also volunteered as an ambassador for her School on University open days, sharing her experiences on her course with prospective students and applicants. Additionally, she completed an international year at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she was invited to join the National Society of Collegiate Scholars in recognition of her academic achievements.

On returning to Keele, Charlotte volunteered with the University’s Global Opportunities team as a Peer Advisor, using her experience to inspire and guide fellow students to pursue opportunities to study abroad by supporting drop-in sessions, answering questions, advising on applications and providing reassurance to students interested in studying abroad. She also chaperoned visiting international students and staff, supporting their arrival and departure, providing a welcoming atmosphere and overseeing visits to the local area.

Discussing how she balanced her undergraduate studies alongside extra-curricular activities, Charlotte said, “I’ve always been a person that loves to organise as it keeps me grounded, so I tried to focus on one task at a time which helped me to be more productive and manage a high workload. Ultimately though, I really enjoyed all the work I put into extra-curricular activities. I go into everything with the mindset that if I can make just one person’s day or experience slightly better, I’ll feel accomplished.

“I also built a really supportive group of friends which helped massively and had wonderful teachers in both of the schools I was a student of. I was really fortunate to be taught by enthusiastic academics who produce incredibly important and meaningful research. My teachers inspired me and really reflected the importance and high quality of the work produced in the body of social sciences literature.”

At the end of her degree, Charlotte received the University’s prestigious Neil and Gina Smith Student of the Year award. Comprising a cash prize of £5,000, the award recognises a student with outstanding achievements and is open to all undergraduate final-year students. Charlotte said: “It was an honour to be awarded Student of the Year and I’m so grateful. There are so many students that do incredible things at Keele, and I believe every candidate deserves recognition for the contributions they’ve made to the university and Keele community.” Applications for the Student of the Year 2025 award will open later this year.

Charlotte, who is now studying a Masters at Keele in Social Science Research, also received awards for achieving the best overall performance in Criminology, the highest mark for her Psychology final year project module, the best Criminology dissertation, and was named Swanmaster by the Students’ Union (the highest award the SU can grant to a student for their contribution to the Keele community).

Reflecting on her time at Keele as an undergraduate student, Charlotte said, “Keele really gave me a second chance to try something new and start a journey in academia. I do sometimes look back at my dancing and wonder ‘what if’, but at the same time I am so grateful I came to Keele and am doing what I do now, and I think maybe something in the universe decided this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m truly excited to be working towards my next goals and I can’t wait to see where my Masters will take me.”