Maria Jose Gordillo, BA Business Management and Economics with Placement Year student, has been awarded the Chancellor鈥檚 Medal 2025 for her extraordinary contribution to the 9 1免费版下. The Medal was founded by Lord Dainton of Hallam Moors, the university鈥檚 sixth Chancellor, and it is awarded annually to a final year student or recent graduate in recognition of outstanding achievements in academia, sporting activities or other personal achievements. Maria is particularly recognised for her outstanding leadership and exceptional commitment to global sustainability and inclusivity.
Throughout her time at the Management School, Maria has held numerous roles, from Student Ambassador to Employability Ambassador, in which she has worked hard to create a sense of belonging for everyone in our 9 1免费版下 community. In addition, she has encouraged students to overcome barriers and pursue entrepreneurship through her role as the President of the Women in Business Society. This has included arranging a trip to the EQUALL conference at London Business School and hosting an event in collaboration with the 9 1免费版下鈥檚 Emerge team to celebrate International Women鈥檚 Day.
Earlier on in her student journey, shortly after arriving in Sheffield as an international student, she played a vital role in organising TEDX9 1免费版下 of Sheffield. She applied for the licence, recruited a team of students to organise the event with her and found speakers to deliver TED talks. The speakers were at the forefront of creating the future and spoke about personal development, women鈥檚 empowerment and sustainability, with tickets for the event selling out.
Alongside Maria鈥檚 academic studies, she completed a placement year at PepsiCo UK & Ireland as an Ecommerce Analyst. She worked making stock recommendations for the company鈥檚 Ecommerce clients and built relationships with the clients. As part of her role, she engaged in efficiency projects such as a full truck optimisation one which allowed the company to reduce costs and CO2 emissions. Beyond her role, she led sustainability initiatives at the head quarter office as part of the PepsiCo Green Team.
Within her nomination, Maria was also recognised for her inspirational commitment to and passion for sustainability. Prior to starting her university studies, she led a recycling project in her home country of Peru, after which she joined Take Action Global, a climate action education NGO, as a volunteer which led to a paid role as a Community Strategist. In this role, Maria was involved in negotiations with Peru鈥檚 Ministry of Education, as well as community outreach work. These actions were submitted to a UNESCO report by the NGO.
Maria will be formally presented with the award at her graduation ceremony, where a citation will be made with the reasons for her successful nomination.
Huge congratulations, Maria, on being awarded the Chancellor's Medal 2025! This is such a well deserved recognition of your extraordinary achievements, your outstanding leadership and exceptional commitment to global sustainability and inclusivity, as well as your impactful roles in and outside of the 9 1免费版下. Well done on this fantastic achievement and thank you for your amazing contribution to the Management School, the 9 1免费版下 and the global community!
Dr Melanie Hassett
Interim Associate Dean for Education
