Model student Helen's busy prognosis
Posted on 3 December 2008
When medical student and part-time model Helen Lawal entered the Miss Black Britain competition, she did not expect to win.
What started as a bit of fun ended with her beating 29 other competitors to take the title at a glittering ceremony at the Leicester Square Theatre in London. Now she faces the challenge of combining her life as a fourth year student at the Hull York Medical School (HYMS) with her new duties.
I see it as a challenge to demonstrate that it is possible to do something like this, and still continue with an academic career
Helen Lawal
Her prize includes the offer of a modelling contract with London talent agency Chokolate and photo-shoots with Black Hair magazine. She has been invited to the Screen Nation awards in London next weekend and the African Music awards on 27 December.
But it will mean a fair amount of juggling for the 23-year-old from Pickering who faces crucial exams in July, and is currently on her HYMS clinical placement in Scunthorpe.
Helen said: "I wasn’t expecting to win at all. I only entered the competition as a bit of fun. I thought it would be an interesting experience. But now I see it as a challenge to demonstrate that it is possible to do something like this, and still continue with an academic career.
"Everyone has been really supportive, though I know a few people were a bit sceptical that I could combine the two. There have been rumours that I was going to give up medicine, but nothing could be further from the truth. Becoming a doctor is my priority."
She is hoping that her new title will allow her to secure some modelling work to support her financially when she does her elective in the 2009/10 academic year. Helen, who is interested in sports medicine, is considering doing her elective either in Nigeria where her father runs a hospital or in the USA.
She is also hoping that her year as Miss Black Britain will help her to raise money for charity.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The Hull York Medical School was established as a joint venture between the Universities of Hull and York, in partnership with the National Health Service. It capitalises on Hull’s considerable strengths in clinical medicine and York’s internationally recognised work in bioscience and health-related research. HYMS students benefit from outstanding academic and clinical facilities, while the Humber and North Yorkshire regions derive significant clinical advantages from having a world-class medical school in the region