Akshaya Khurana

Member of The Dean's List, class of 2021

Akshaya is committed to helping others overcome challenges to achieve their goals, as well as constantly striving to reach her own potential. 

Dancing to success

Her long-standing passion for dance and positive attitude opened many opportunities for Akshaya during her studies, such as becoming a Ballet Teacher and taking on the role of Competition Secretary for Sheffield Dance Society. One of her biggest achievements was the organisation of the society’s largest annual production in the shape of the home dance competition, which brought together 16 universities from around the country to compete.

Leveraging her relationship with Enterprise Rent-a-Car, having previously completed an internship there, Akshaya secured vital sponsorship funds for the dance event. The event was an all-round success, with the added benefits of increasing male participation by 100% and raising valuable funds for human-trafficking charity, the Snowdrop Project.

A helping hand

Akshaya’s desire to help others extends to her student community too, and it is through being a Mentor that she created a ‘Freshers 101’ list to help new students become engaged in Sheffield Life, as well as dedicating an incredible five years to tutoring a girl through her GCSEs and A Levels, which ultimately helped her to apply to university. 

Community spirit

During her volunteer role with the Snowdrop Project, Akshaya led dance classes for vulnerable women using the charity’s services, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, she delivered online dance classes to help bring her peers together and raise morale during the difficult times.

In her home village, Akshaya took the initiative to start a Sunday Selling group to promote local businesses, which was so greatly received that it now has a regular spot on the village community calendar.

Throughout her degree, Akshaya also took part in social-impact projects through her roles with Enactus and volunteered her time at the Sunday Centre kitchen providing much needed support to homeless and vulnerable people in the local community.

Professional outlook

Alongside all of this, Akshaya’s dedication to continuously improving her employability - as an Intern and then Campus Brand Manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and as Social Media Manager at independent business, Aadya Life – contributed to her success in securing a graduate role as a Consulting Analyst at Accenture.