Noorin studies Sports Psychology & Coaching, is a BU sports scholar and 2017 National Weightlifting Champion.

What makes me BU Proud is the way everyone works together to ensure you get the most out of your experience at BU. The support system is amazing and hard work is rewarded - I wouldn’t have it any other way! 

Noorin Gulam weightlifting BU student Noorin Gulam at a weightlifting competition

For a girl from West London who has been a keen athlete for many years, BU held dual appeal: “I knew straight away that BU was going to support my sporting goals and I always wanted to move somewhere near the beach, so I was really excited about moving to Bournemouth”.

Being a National Weightlifting Champion might be enough for some but Noorin has more ambitious goals for the next few years: “I recently secured my place in the Great British team competing at the 2017 World University Championships being held in Taiwan. The World University Championships is one of the biggest multi-sport events in the world with over 10,000 athletes competing in over 22 different sports, second only to the Olympic Games.

“After that, I hope to qualify and compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and place in the top five.”

Reflecting on her experience as a sports scholar and time at BU so far, Noorin shared: “Winning TeamBU Sports Woman of the year in 2015 and 2016 are real highlights of my time here. It’s great for my sport and my achievements to be recognised by the other scholars and SportBU staff.

“The support for athletes is amazing and we’re really taken care of. I have been injured at times and BU has helped me to get back up and continue training to fulfil my goals. Being a scholar you get to meet many like-minded individuals with similar aspirations. It allows you to push yourself and the other scholars to fight for what we want.”

Getting to this point has taken a lot of hard work, and Noorin has had to make compromises to balance her studies and sport since she started her degree at BU in September 2014.

“I’ve had to work hard on my studies and I’m proud to have achieved a few firsts in my assignments during the first two years of my course. “It is hard to juggle all the different components of being a student and athlete, but I have a good support team around me. My teammates at BU Weightlifting are just as committed as I am. It is hard being away from my family a lot to be able to train but they are so understanding and supportive. You've got to remember where you want to be and be willing to but the work in for it.”

Noorin has also taken up the opportunity to spend a year in industry on a 30-week placement, which she starts this academic year.

“I have a placement lined up at the Leaf studio in Bournemouth, assisting their Strength and Conditioning head coach, which I am really looking forward to. I hope I’ll be able to use my knowledge from Olympic weightlifting to help the athletes at the Leaf studio while I am on placement. I am still unsure what exactly I want to do after I retire from weightlifting and think my placement will help me decide what's right for me - the experience of working with the diverse range of athletes there will certainly help increase my knowledge so I grow as a coach”.

When asked to share some final words, Noorin keeps it simple: “Just keep at it. If you work hard the results will come”.

Find more information about the BU Sport Scholarship and studying BSc (Hons) Sports Psychology & Coaching at BU.