Skip to main content
University of East London
  • Staff login
  • Student login
  • Study
    Study
    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL
    Apply through Clearing

    View courses in Clearing.

    Explore now
    • COURSES
      • Undergraduate
      • Clearing
      • Postgraduate
      • Advice for mature learners
      • Subjects
      • Apprenticeships
      • January starts
    • STUDENT INFORMATION
      • Student life
      • Current students
      • New students
      • Accommodation
      • Term dates
      • Fees and funding
      • Scholarships
    • VISIT UEL
      • Open days and events
      • Our location
  • International
    International
    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL
    International Events

    We're here to support you, every step of the way.

    Check out our events
    • APPLYING
      • Advice for your region
      • Pre-degree courses
      • Visa and immigration advice
      • Transferring to UEL
      • International admission deadlines
      • Pre-sessional English
      • Malvern House pathway programmes
      • Contact our international team
    • STUDENT INFORMATION
      • Accommodation
      • Term dates
      • Fees and funding
      • Scholarships
    • VISIT UEL
      • Open days and events
      • Our location
      • Virtual open events
  • Your career
    Your career
    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL
    Are you an employer?

    Advertise a vacancy on our platform today.

    Get started
    • STARTING YOUR CAREER
      • Career Zone
      • Explore your career
      • Career coaching and mentoring
    • GETTING A JOB
      • Meet employers
      • Be your own boss
      • Volunteering
      • Work while you study
  • Partners
    Partners
    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL
    • Partnerships at UEL
    • Train your workforce
    • Share your skills
    • Connect with our people
  • Our research
    Our research
    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL
    REF 2021

    Read about our Research Excellence Framework submissions and results

    Impact case studies
    • Postgraduate research students
    • Research impact
    • Partnerships
    • REF 2021
  • About
    About
    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL
    Connected campus

    We are improving our three campuses for people to study, work and live.

    What we're doing
    • OUR UNIVERSITY
      • Our schools and subjects
      • Staff
      • Governance
      • Professional services
      • 125 years
      • Vision 2028
      • Alumni
      • Accreditations
      • Sustainable Development Goals
    • TEACHING AND SUPPORT
      • How we teach
      • Mental wealth
      • On-campus nursery
    • GET INVOLVED
      • Events
      • News
    • GET IN TOUCH
      • Our location
      • Contact us
      • Venue hire
  • Home
  • About
  • Never not
  • East london voices

Ovie Soko

Ovie Soko

"Sport has helped massively. I think there are certain lessons you can't learn in a classroom setting."

Hero Carousel

"Sport has helped massively. I think there are certain lessons you can't learn in a classroom setting."

I believe in continuing to grow as people and education falls under that. Primarily everyone continuing to further what is true to them and continue to grow in whatever area that may be.

My role with education is a tricky one. Not going to lie, just being very honest. Having grown up there are certain aspects of education that are a must, that you need to function in society. Everyone does need that base. As we grow as people, there are no two people that are the same and the more I grew up and the older I got... the more I saw the necessity to find what is true to you. Not what is true to your parents or your teachers but what agreed with who you are. Find it and then dive into it.

Sport has helped me massively. I think there are certain lessons you can't learn in a classroom setting because in the classroom a lot of the time it is based around competition as an individual.

Probably the most valuable lesson I've learnt from sport is just how to navigate in life. How to deal with people. I've learnt so many people skills playing sport. I feel there are certain aspects of being on a team that you can transfer to life in general. Like in the workplace you have different characters and temperaments, and you can't get the same productivity out of everyone by speaking to them in the same way. You need to weigh up different things when trying to get different results. These are all things that come into play in sports. Sport has been a huge part of me becoming the man I am today. Other than allowing me to travel, experience the world and see different cultures - you learn a lot from different cultures and gain a more well-rounded perspective. Sport has been a beast.

Mental health is key. I have fought my battles along my journey. Part of my growth in that area has been my maturity but not only that. Knowledge is power, when you use it, and I have learnt the importance of the mind and how powerful it is. I pick up very quickly on how people think. Successful people tend to be very optimistic. Their outlook on every situation seems to be in the direction of solution-based thinking. So, I try to focus on the solution too.

Ovie Soko is a professional basketball player.

Ovie Soko portrait photo

You may also want to view...

Subjects

How we teach

We focus on the complete person. We offer a personalised approach that takes account of your career readiness, soft skills and wellbeing. Our approach is called Technology Enhanced Active Learning.

Help us make this site better by telling us what you think about this page

Social Media

Follow us on social media:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • TikTok

University of East London

University Way

London, E16 2RD

United Kingdom



T. +44 20 8223 3000


Explore UEL

  • About UEL
  • Take a virtual tour
  • Calendars
  • Freedom of information
  • Governance management
  • Services and departments
  • Find us
  • Contact us

The University

  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • News
  • Events
  • Jobs

University of East London

University Way

London, E16 2RD

United Kingdom



T. +44 20 8223 3000


Copyright ©2023 University of East London

  • Accessibility
  • Data protection
  • Sitemap
  • AccessAble
  • Modern slavery
  • Legal and compliance
  • Cookie settings
  • Privacy
back to top