Former student Diallo Williams has been recently awarded a prestigious law scholarship.
Diallo left us in 2020 to read law at King’s College Cambridge. Now, he is one of only thirteen students in the country to earn a place on the Freshfields Stephen Lawrence Scholarship Scheme. The scheme was established with support from Doreen Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon OBE. The scheme aims to address the disproportionate under-representation of Black men from less socially mobile backgrounds in large commercial law firms in the City of London.
Diallo took part in a process that assessed applicants’ talent and potential across a wide range of criteria – not just academic performance. Now that Diallo has a place on the scheme, he will be a part of a 15-month development programme, which includes:
- Skills workshops
- Interview coaching
- Networking
- Mentoring
- Support with job applications
- Careers advice
He will also receive work shadowing at top law firm Freshfields, and a guaranteed interview for a training contract. A project week also gives scholars first-hand experience in problem-solving under pressure. This means that Diallo will get a great taste of the corporate law environment.
Diallo commented, “I’m really excited to be a Freshfields scholar. I’m looking forward to being mentored as I feel this will be beneficial to me, in both my career and in life in general. Above all, I’m most looking forward to working on a project with ambitious, like-minded people. I feel that it will be something I will be able to learn a lot from.”
Diallo was our top academic performer in 2019-20, earning a string of top grades. Therefore, it is no surprise to see him thriving in university life. He has already stayed in contact with the school, contributing to our Virtual Sixth Form Open Evening in September 2020. We cannot wait to see how he achieves next – the sky is the limit for this talented young man.
Tags: 2021-22, Alumni, Diallo Williams, Law, Scholarship
