Campus Celebrity: Issy Ward

Tell us about your forthcoming trip to Kilimanjaro. As part of a group of 11 coming from both of the universities, in September we’ll be travelling to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Currently we’re raising our funds in order to donate as much as we can for the charity, Dig Deep. Set up in 2007, Dig Deep helps to get clean water to communities in East Africa. They use current technology and methods to create a sustainable source of water, something that everyone deserves. If anyone wants to help our fundraising, look out for events on Facebook and posters around campus for upcoming Gigs, Quiz Nights and many more events!

Have you done anything like this before? Yes, at 16 I fundraised in order to spend a month in Vietnam and Cambodia, and to spend time at a local Orphanage helping building up flood defences for the upcoming monsoon season and teaching a small amount of English.

What do you think your biggest challenge will be during the expedition? I think our biggest challenge will be the Altitude. It takes four days to reach the summit, and only two days to get down, because the air gets so thin and makes the climb a real effort. Other than that the summit temperature can range from -18 to -26 degrees, so I think that might be a challenge in order to cope with that as well!

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go? There are so many places I want to go visit! At the top of the list would probably be Italy, I’ve never been and would love to see all the sights! A bit further afield I would love to visit parts of Asia.

Do you have any plans for the future? I wish! None, at the moment, just trying to study hard and fundraise for the Climb, then I suppose I’ll have to have a good think.

What’s your favourite word and why? As an English student, that’s a rather tough question! I think I’d have to say ‘smile’, because even the smallest of smiles can lift anyone’s mood, or make someone’s day.

If you owned a boat what would you call it? I don’t think I would own a boat, because it means people have the ability to fish on it, and I have a totally irrational fear of fish.

Who’s your dream dinner party guest? My dream dinner guest, would be F. Scott Fitzgerald, as he’s my favourite author, and who doesn’t want to meet their favourite author?

If you had a million pounds what would be the first thing you bought? Currently, as a student, I’d probably buy a massive house, of hotel in Falmouth, and have all my friends move in, so they could live rent free… and then have a massive party.