Shakira Martin has been elected as president of the NUS students’ union for 2017-18.
The former Lewisham College student, who served as the union’s vice-president for FE, received almost 59 per cent of the vote, beating nearest rival Malia Bouattia by 402 votes to 272.
Following her victory, Ms Martin said she was “honoured and humbled” to have been elected as the union’s president. She follows in the footsteps of former Cornwall College student Toni Pearce, who became the NUS’ first president never to have been to university when she was appointed in 2013.
‘Further education made me who I am today’
Ms Martin said: “I am honoured and humbled to have been elected as NUS’ national president. I take this as a vote of trust that our members believe I can lead our national movement to be the fighting and campaigning organisation we need it to be, representing the breadth of our diverse membership.
“Further education made me who I am today and look forward to sharing stories of just how powerful all forms of education can be when we’re all given access to it. During my term in office, I want to spend my time listening, learning and leading.”
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