Jack Sibeon is a graduate of the Bartlett School of Planning, and former Boat Club Captain and Sports Officer for Students’ Union UCL, leading a community of over 8,000 members.
Arriving in London to study for a degree in Urban Planning and Real Estate, Jack was initially overwhelmed by the city. However, after taking part in a trial session with the UCL Boat Club on a whim, he soon found his community and made lifelong friendships.
Growing up in the Northwest of England, rowing was not something he had tried before, but he immediately fell in love with the sport, and the River Thames quickly became his favourite location. By his second year he was already Novice Captain, training first year students, themselves new to rowing, alongside serving as a Sports Rep, offering over 20 hours to Team UCL clubs on top of study and paid work. He was then elected Sports Officer in his final year of study.
His experience at UCL taught him leadership and staying calm under pressure.
I can tell you all sorts of stories about crashes in the boat club and learning how to deal with crisis moments!
As UCL Sports Officer, Jack transformed the role of Sports Reps, empowering them to support their clubs more effectively and ensuring that Sports Clubs are represented in the Union’s democratic structures.
He also set up the Jeffrey Easton Memorial Fund, named after a popular former coach, which aims to make rowing even more accessible to people from all backgrounds. This involved organising a fundraising event attended by over 100 rowers, partners and alumni.
Rowing is almost entirely a private school sport and it's not accessible at all. University is one of the only places where people who don't have those sorts of advantages in life can have access to those experiences. This fund was a way for us to really try and open up access to sport for people from low-income backgrounds.
Looking to the future, he wants UCL to go even further in supporting talented students regardless of their background and removing barriers to world-leading education.
Solving problems is something that has driven Jack throughout his career, first at UCL and now as a Project Manager for large public building schemes in London. He is now focused on developing physical spaces and affordable housing that fosters community connection and a sense of belonging.
There are lots of problems in the world. We've all got a responsibility to help solve those problems and I think the way you do that is by bringing people together.
