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Student Voice - Ambika Jois
by Laura Walkinshaw, a fellow student, who has been studying English and Professional & Creative Writing since 2005 and hopes to become a journalist
With singing, songwriting and countless performances under her belt, it’s no wonder Ambika Jois has been awarded the St Mary’s Creative Scholarship two years in a row. The St Mary’s Bursary and Scholarship scheme mostly benefits those students who started university in 2006 or later and who fall into the “new” financial arrangements, therefore facing the hefty £3,000 tuition fee. The scholarship programme strives to award those students who show an active participation in the areas of creativity, sport or community.
At the age of just twenty-one, second year student, Ambika, is already experiencing her shot at fame. Her latest project to date, and undoubtedly the most exciting, is featuring in an advert filmed to promote the BBC Asian Network radio station, broadcast on BBC television since February. The ad can also be viewed on the BBC website www.bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork/desimixer.
She says, “I got it through Mad Dog Casting Ltd, a casting agency that provides extras for British films like ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and ‘Run Fat Boy, Run’, as well as music videos. They called and said, ‘You sing, do you want to try this out?’ They wanted an Asian singer, so I attended the audition and got selected!”
Ambika also talks about her participation at St Mary’s, which has included the ‘Colours of the World’ event that was held in November 2007 to celebrate the many different cultures we find around the world. The proceeds from the event were raised for the Mustard Seed Communities, a charity based in Jamaica that assists orphaned and abandoned children, as well as others in need of help.
The show included singing, dancing and fashion: “I was singing, and because it was a fashion orientated show, I took part in the fashion too.”
As Ambika is originally from Bangalore, South India, where she lived until she was six years old, she was trained in North Indian singing and Indian jazz. She brought such cultural heritage to her performance. However, ironically, the songs she writes herself are in English: “I mix Western soul with Indian music. I call it ‘Indion’. That’s my style. In parts you can hear I’m singing in the Indian style, but then, in other bits, you can hear I’m singing soul.”
Ambika talks excitedly about the demo she has recently recorded, which is currently being re-mastered in India, with the help of her Dad, who is also very musical: “My Dad’s a composer and does all of the arrangements for my songs, so he’s in India getting that done, string instrumentals and everything!”
However, whilst being in front of the screen is a big ambition for Ambika, she also talks about her love for working behind the screen – the passion that inspired her to study Film and Television with Media Arts at St Mary’s.
“I like screenwriting. I’ve got really good ideas and when I’m writing scripts, I can imagine how it could be edited to make a film. That makes me feel like being a director too! I want to do all sorts of things!”
She plans to apply for the Creative Scholarship in her third year too, because, as she says, “By that time, I’ll have my demo out and I’ll be able to prove my achievements.”
So, Ambika, any advice for other students thinking about applying for a scholarship? “Keep active in whatever it is you do. That’s the only way you can prove you’ve got the inspiration for it.”
And there certainly is no doubting that she has both the inspiration and the active mindset to do exactly that.
