School President, Ayra Ahmad, Awarded Prestigious Presidents’ Representation Award at One Union Awards
Ayra Ahmad, a St Andrews medical student and current School President for academic year 2025/26, has been awarded the Presidents’ Representation Award (a category in the a Student Excellence Awards) at this year’s One Union Awards Ceremony, recognising an outstanding and exceptional contribution to student representation.
According to the Student Union website, “The Presidents’ Representation Award is given to one student every year who makes an outstanding and exceptional contribution to student representation during their time at St Andrews.”
The recipient is shortlisted by the President of Union Affairs, President of Education, President of Student Opportunities, President of Wellbeing & Community, President of Postgraduate Researchers, and President of Postgraduate Taught Students.
It was a cloak and dagger affair, with the Student Union’s Education Executive team, keeping the award under wraps to ensure a genuinely unfiltered reaction from Ayra on the night. In a classic case of misdirection, Ayra had been informed by email that she had not won an Education Representation prize, the email deliberately leaving out the information that she had, in fact, been awarded a Student Excellence Award.
“Shell‑shocked is probably the best way to describe my face,” Ayra said, referencing a candid snapshot of her when the award was announced (see image below).
Ayra has served in multiple leadership and representation roles, including Careers & Employability Representative 2023/24, Bute Medical Society President 2024/25, before taking on the role of Medical School President in 2025/26. As School President, her advocacy extended well beyond lectures, representing medics in dissection labs, clinical skills teaching, placements, and across NHS Boards including Fife and Forth Valley.
Her initiatives included relaunching the Labcoat Drive, which is a way of redistributing DR lab coats to incoming students to reduce financial pressures while supporting sustainability goals, and advocating for awareness of the hidden costs of studying medicine in St Andrews, including rising prices in the cafe. She also introduced a new rep feedback system that improved engagement and meeting efficiency, alongside a weekly Society Digest to support the growing number of medical-themed societies.
Ayra launched The Proficiency Pursuit, a centralised resource highlighting local, national and international opportunities for students seeking to strengthen their CVs, and organised the Medics Fayre as part of her role as School President, bringing together medical societies, external organisations, over 600 members of the community, and unprecedentedly on North Haugh (and not without a great deal of perseverance) an ice cream van!
She also contributed to planning discussions for the new Business School, offering practical input on safety infrastructure, and, with the support of the 2026 graduating class, designed bespoke graduation merchandise and created a time capsule to be placed in the University archives. Her research into the history of Medicine in St Andrews, with a focus on the Bute Medical Society, supported her in curating a new Bute Presidents Medal to commemorate the Society’s 110th anniversary. This facilitated the retirement of the original medal to the University’s Museum Collection. Ayra said,
“I’m incredibly grateful. It’s been a privilege to serve the medical community, both as Bute Medical Society President and now as School President, and to help nurture the vibrant med scene we have in St Andrews today.”
Dean of Medicine, Professor Deborah Williamson said of Ayra’s win,
“Ayra has made a big impact during her tenure as School President, and the School is very proud of her. The Faculty are all grateful for the time and effort she has put into her Presidentship. I offer my heartiest congratulations!”