Shahd Sabkha

Member of The Dean's List, class of 2020

Shahd’s place on the Dean's List was awarded for her encouraging approach and outstanding professional achievements.  

Award-winning achievements

Alongside the Dean’s List, Shahd was the top performer on her degree programme and won the Mary Bowerman Memorial Prize in her final year of study, for her performance in accounting and financial management. She was also awarded the Idris Hicks Memorial Prize during her second year of studies, for achieving the best academic performance in the accounting and financial management modules.

After flourishing in her roles of Student Ambassador and Global Campus Ambassador, Shahd was nominated for the Student Union’s 2019 Student Employee of the Year Award and applauded for her inclusivity, reliability, enthusiasm, and willingness to ‘go the extra mile.'

Pursuing professional skills

Shahd's professional experience whilst at Sheffield includes her role as a Campus Ambassador for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), work experience at Hawsons Chartered Accountants, and part-time job as a Customer Services Assistant at Lloyd’s Bank. As an Oracy and Debating Mentor at the English Speaking Union (ESU), Shahd attended secondary schools to teach children how to debate. She worked on the Student Services Information Desk and held a position as Event Assistant at UCAS.

Shahd achieved all of this while using her black-red belt skills in Mixed Martial Arts to mentor younger students, after training in the sport for five years herself.  Through Mixed Martial Arts she enhanced her self-confidence and discipline, and she developed leadership skills through assisting others in the sport.

Giving back

Shahd spent three years on the Women in Business Society’s committee as the Inclusion Officer and Representative, during which she arranged donation drives for the S6 Foodbank and St Wilfrid’s Centre, and bake sales to fundraise for charities. As a volunteer with the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service, Shahd engaged in study assistance, library support, reading assistance and manual note taking.

Shahd volunteered at the Sunday Centre in Sheffield to serve hot meals to the homeless, clean dishes, and set out board games for them to enjoy. She also joined a campaign called ‘For the Love of Books’, attending care homes to read poetry to the elderly.

Next for Shahd

Before handing in the first assessment of her final year, Shahd had already earned places at four different graduate role assessment centres and received two job offers. Shahd chose to take a Graduate Audit role at the multinational professional services network KPMG International Ltd after completing her studies.