What brought you to SSEES?
The first time someone pronounced my name correctly, first-time, was at the SSEES Offer Holder Day. I knew then that SSEES was the place for me.
My sister and I grew up as the only Central-Eastern European children at school, in the long shadow of Brexit. Little by little, I came to learn that the pride I had in my Polish-ness wasn’t a sentiment shared by most. Until I crossed the threshold of SSEES, I wasn’t able to recognise how much that experience had shaped me. That singular moment, a correct pronunciation, was what ultimately brought me to SSEES - it was the greatest indication of what the School is and stands for. Today, I’m incredibly proud to represent SSEES - it is a second home to me, and I feel a deep sense of belonging here. There’s nowhere else quite like it.
What are you studying and what attracted you to this particular course?
I read Politics, Sociology and East European Studies- and I absolutely love it.
I have always had a fascination with the SSEES region, in childhood my favourite book was Red Star over Russia: A Visual History of the Soviet Union by David King. Throughout my schooling, I kept finding myself frustrated by the near-total exclusion of Central-Eastern Europe from the curriculum, conversation or frame of reference. When the region was briefly discussed, the revisionist narratives often clashed painfully with personal histories I grew up hearing. That disconnect, between what I knew of the region from experience and what I was being taught, became impossible to ignore.
That feeling was totally epitomised after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As a Polish girl in a British school, I found myself alone in understanding the historical and ongoing realities of Russian imperialism. It became clear to me then that I had to study Central-Eastern Europe, not only because the region has always fascinated me, but because I needed to contribute, in whatever way I can, to the struggle for a free and sovereign Ukraine.
So, when I found SSEES and the Politics & Sociology course, everything clicked. The course was exactly what I had hoped for: rigorous and genuinely engaged with the complexities of the region. Over my two years at SSEES, I’ve studied everything from language courses to Russian disinformation to memory politics. That’s what I love most about SSEES - it’s fundamentally interdisciplinary, no matter what your degree title is.
Can you tell us a bit about your role as the President of the SSEES Society?
Being President of SSEES Society is definitely what you make of it - and I plan to make a lot of it! Last year, I served as Communications Manager and put on so many amazing events. A moment that meant a great deal to me personally was organising a commemorative evening marking the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising (1944). It was an honour to pay tribute to the victims, including more than five members of my own family, and to create a space within SSEES to reflect on such a significant and often overlooked moment in history.
(That year, I also carved a SSEES pumpkin for our Halloween, but that was definitely an extra-curricular activity! I remain very proud of it though.)
One of my proudest achievements was launching SSEES-Mas! - exclamation mark mandatory. SSEES-Mas! is our flagship festive party, where we’re joined by cultural societies representing the SSEES region from across London. We transform a lecture hall for a 60-question cultural pub quiz celebrating all aspects of festivities from across our region. It’s deeply chaotic and so much fun. Unfortunately, it is July so no one will let me talk about SSEES-Mas! just yet, but I’m definitely thinking about it. Most recently, I helped host a delegation from Ukraine as part of a Council of Europe-funded project ‘Art, Youth and a Shared Peace’. We welcomed them to SSEES in the morning, then continued with a day at the House of Commons through my work with a think tank. It was a real honour to co-organise the day alongside the brilliant Freya Proudman, SSEES Society President 2021-2022.
We have so much lined up for this year for SSEES Society that I can’t wait to share! But for now… you will just have to wait and S[SEE]S!
Outside of your studies, how do you unwind?
Though it’s rather cliché, I am one of those Type-A people who runs at a hundred miles an hour. I really enjoy filling my time to the brim, which is probably why I sit on four committees! The best thing about living in London, and studying at SSEES in particular, is that there is absolutely always something to do. I take full advantage! I have been to the Houses of Parliament three times in the last week alone. That said, I also absolutely love to cook, which is the closest I get to unwinding per se. Baking, however, is a red line for me. I have an unshakeable compulsion to add more and more flour, and it always ends up concrete adjacent. I wish I were joking.
If you could recommend only one book, what would it be?
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt.
What are your future plans/aspirations?
I aspire to never leave the world of politics- I genuinely can’t wait to see where that takes me. Right now, I’m particularly interested in defence and public affairs, and I’m exploring what a career in those areas might look like. Beyond my personal aspirations, my future plans are to do whatever I can to ensure Ukraine’s freedom. That commitment shapes how I think about my future. Whether through policy, advocacy, or public service, I want to contribute meaningfully to that cause- because for me, it goes above and beyond everything else.