Christian Klotz is a recipient of the Sandhu Charitable Foundation Scholarship. Here he talks about the impact the scholarship has had:
I decided that I wanted to stay in London for university as my family and closest friends were all based there, as well as London being a great city to experience life as student. Having looked at the various business schools, Cass business school stood out to me due to its strong reputation in the UK, and also its established connection with large companies and industries in London. A key outcome from university is being able to get a good job at the end to start your career, which is why I felt that network would add a lot of value.
The Sandhu scholarship that I received made a massive difference to my time at University. My parents have never had a very large income, and receiving this scholarship meant that I did not have to feel that I should reach out to my parents for financial support, and also made me feel much more at ease knowing that I would be leaving university with a much smaller student debt. As a result, I did not feel pressure to be working many hours in a part-time job to support myself financially while at University. This allowed me to focus my energy on my studies, and I ended up receiving the highest BSc Management 1st year average, as well as coming in the top 10% of students in my second and third year of study.
The scholarship also made it possible for me to spend my second year of university abroad in America, at one of Cass business schools exchange partners, Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The various opportunities that Cass offers are incredible, they allow you to add something unique to your CV that can differentiate you against others in a very competitive jobs market. This year abroad has been very well received in subsequent interviews that I had, and helped me to develop my understanding of different cultures and backgrounds which I am now interacting with every day in my work.
Another huge benefit of receiving this scholarship was the opportunity to meet several times with Bim and Pardeep, who offered the scholarship. They have a genuine desire to make a positive difference in the lives of students who require support. In a way, they acted as mentors for me throughout my university years, and we continue to stay in contact even now, almost two years after graduating.
I am now working at Barclays HQ in London, on the Human Resources graduate programme. I have had a number of challenging and rewarding rotations already in various divisions of the bank including HR business partnering (Investment Bank and Group Risk team), and I am currently in the central Performance Management team. The skills and knowledge that I gained at Cass business school have helped me to perform to a high standard in my rotations so far, and the network of friends that I built during university will continue to be a strong presence in my work and social life. I am very grateful for my time at Cass business school, and for having received the Sandhu Scholarship, and hope that one day I’ll be in a position to offer something similar to students in a similar situation to me.