Hey Guys, it's 2023!! 

I can't believe we're in 2023, honestly, I think as we grow up the years just go by quicker and quicker, it's actually quite scary! 

Anyways, welcome back to This Is Not The Daria Show and welcome to our first episode of the new year! I'm super excited for this podcast because we talk about education, young people and what it means to be ambitious from a working class background today. Please can we welcome our first guest of 2023 *drumroll* ... KWABENA!! 

Some of you may already know Kwabena from his TikTok @kwabena.hmk ;) where he shares relatable videos on being a university student and making the most out of opportunities, British youth culture and everything in between. Our podcast today is really Kwabena's story ; the story of everything being achievable with hard work, dedication and most importantly self-belief. 

In this first part we get to know Kwabena's life before Oxford where he studies History and Politics. We talk about Kwabena's experiences of being at a school which he felt suffered from a lack of resources and ambition for its students and what that consequently meant for him. 

We talk about Kwabena's Oxford application process and the support and guidance along the way. We cast ourselves back to Spring 2020 when the world turned upside down and the news of school closures and public examinations being cancelled caused great concern. We hear about Kwabena's unique experience of being part of the 2020 cohort and how Gavin Williamson's algorithm (ikr throwback) rejected him both from Oxford and his insurance. The anxieties felt by students whose futures lay in an algorithm which disadvantages those from certain backgrounds is one hard to imagine. 

Join us in part two where we talk about life at Oxford and making the most out of the university experience!