Meet Sam Turnpenny: Inspiring young people changing the world

Welcome to our Inspiring Young People series, a blog series in which we share the stories of five of the most inspiring young people in the UK right now. Whether it’s someone who’s going good in the world, an up-and-coming entrepreneur or just someone who deserves to be shouted about, we’ll be celebrating the young people who are driving this generation. This week’s inspiring young person is Sam Turnpenny. 

Who is Sam? 

Not only is Sam a talented individual, but he loves searching for and promoting the talent of other young people, too. Sam focuses his work around helping young people and ensuring that they all have equal opportunities in life, and he has the award-winning status to prove that! 

Today, we’ll be focusing on Sam’s role at The 93% Club, a social mobility network for students. Alongside this, Sam is an Early Talent Manager for Multiverse, a network which is changing the future of work and apprenticeships. 

What does Sam do? 

The 93% Club was founded in 2016, and was established as a way of helping state educated students excel at university and ensure that they are offered equal opportunities. Originally founded at University of Bristol, The Club has since expanded to become the UK’s largest social mobility network for students across 45+ universities. As they write on their website: ‘The 93% Club aims to ensure that all students, regardless of their educational background, have the same positive academic and social experiences.’

Sam’s involvement as Head of Talent at The 93% Club alongside his other work at Multiverse shows a real passion for supporting young people and fighting inequality - issues that Gen Zers are famous for caring about. The now-national network focuses on improving students’ employability and soft skills, and through events, discussions, workshops, social spaces, educational resources and that ever-growing network, students across the country are gaining confidence and excelling in their education. 

One recent campaign, #WeAreStateSchoolProud, encouraged individuals to share their stories of state school education, their journey to university and their experiences with The 93% Club. The campaign aims ‘to challenge the notion that the nation’s ‘top jobs’ are unattainable for the 93% of students education at state funded schools.’

Thanks to their continued work, The 93% Club were shortlisted in the Great British Entrepreneur Award 2022 - a fantastic achievement! 

Sam also writes for The Milkround, a newsletter dedicated to careers, apprenticeships and graduate recruitment. 

Why does Sam inspire us? 

Gen Z are all about fair opportunities, and are strong believers in the fact that a different background shouldn’t mean a different education or experience. Sam’s various works and passion for the cause prove that he’s committed to truly supporting and inspiring young people and students. Sam is tackling inequality every step of the way, and his commitment is both commendable and motivating- congratulations, Sam!

A word from Sam…

"Over the last two years, we've grown The 93% Club from a few hundred students at two universities to many thousands of students at more than 45 universities. It's been an honour and a privilege to be able to work with so many talented young people to bring the conversation about social mobility, class and the state-private education divide to every corner of the country, and make such a positive and meaningful step towards tackling social immobility once and for all.

"Over the next academic year, I'm really pleased to have been asked by our trustees to continue expanding the Club and growing our impact, both on campus and beyond. We have lots of exciting new initiatives launching in the next twelve months that I know will really move the needle on social mobility, and I can't wait for everyone to see what we have in store!"

{{ctaDark}}