Motivational Monday

For the latest Motivational Monday, we spoke to class of 2017 alumna Olivia Aslett.

After leaving South Hampstead in 2017, Olivia secured a place at the Glasgow School of Art to study Product Design, and decided to defer her start by a year. Proactively, Olivia decided to fill her year with projects to build a foundation for her future degree, and to develop her own identity. She took up a full-time position as a Design Studio Assistant then spent time travelling. Olivia achieved a first-class degree at Glasgow and is now using her time to inspire and impart knowledge to our current DT A Level students.

Olivia maintains that her experiences at South Hampstead were crucial in shaping her life. In particular, she credits the reasoning and critical thinking skills that were instilled in her at school. The atmosphere of the communal spaces at school played a big part in this, and she fondly recalls having lively debates with her friends about current affairs over lunch.

Having studied a creative degree, she highlights the importance of being able to question, ponder and be curious when presented with a task. These skills, established during her time at South Hampstead, became particularly important to Olivia at university where she was constantly developing new projects. She maintains that her determination and confidence to voice her opinions and question norms were instrumental in her success.

Olivia’s advice to our pupils today? ‘Learn some habits that are good for you personally, not just for your career and your studies. Respect yourself and back yourself up. When you do that, other successes will follow.’ When asked to describe herself in three words, she said: interested, light-hearted, and compassionate – a South Hampstead girl through and through.