Meet the students nominated for UCL Arts Personality of the Year

It's the pinnacle of the end of year Arts Awards, because not only does it focus on nominees achievements in the academic year, but it looks back at their whole time at university.

The award is given based off of four criteria: years of service, relationship with SUUCL, relationship with other Arts society members, and individual contribution to the Arts community at UCL. It's a pretty big deal, because only one person can win each year.

The shortlisted nominees this year come from a mix of academic backgrounds but all boast impressive accomplishments from their time at UCL. So without further ado, the nominees for UCL Arts Personality of the Year are…

Nick Mastrini, Film Society

Candid snap

Now in his final year studying English, Czech-American Nick has been Documentary Producer for FilmSoc and Savage's Broadcast Editor for the past two years.

He lives with four rugby lads so it's safe to say that the arts in his house is 'recherché' (his words, not mine!), but that hasn't stopped him from getting involved at UCL. He's the mastermind behind the trailers for Into the Woods and Rhapsody, as well as this year's Bloomsbury Sessions.

As the only graduating nominee, the future is unclear for Nick. Like any dedicated artist, his plans involve following his passion. After graduation he is planning to freelance in the film industry.

Ellie Fallon, Jazz Society

She spent some of her childhood in the US but you'd never know

Second year Human Sciences student Ellie Fallon is the next nominee on the list. Currently the Small Bands/Jam Manager of JazzSoc, she established the society's first all-female house band this year. Despite jazz being a genre dominated by men, Ellie went one step further by organising her own Female Jazz workshop as part of the This Girl Can campaign.

She also produced this year's innovative Term 1 Garage show, Cross Currents, as well as co-composing a completely original piece for the show.

Freddie Lynch, Musical Theatre Society

The literal human manifestation of UCL Arts

A regular fixture in the CSC Common Room, Freddie is the SUUCL Arts Officer for the academic year 2017-18. These are dark days for the Arts community, with no Bloomsbury Theatre, but Freddie has been leading efforts to hold the union to their promise of a 2018 reopening.

He sat on 12 different union panels this year, and acted as representative for all 30 Arts societies. On top of his union work, he managed to produce Musical Theatre Society's huge production of Rent in Term 1, and their production of Ordinary Days in Term 2.

This momentum doesn't look to be slowing, as later this term, he'll be producing the much-anticipated MT production of High School Musical in collaboration with UCL Cheerleading Club. That's in addition to the astounding 27 different productions he's been involved with since starting at UCL.

Vojta Smekal, Stage Crew Society

Just a fun-loving boi

As the Treasurer of Stage Crew, Vojta has automatically been involved with pretty much every show at UCL – but still that wasn't enough for him. He's gone above and beyond this year, producing the impressive Into the Woods, and production managing Rhapsody 2018.

His accomplishments may start backstage but they surely don't end there; Vojta danced Beginners Hip Hop in the DanceSoc Triple Bill Showcase. Vojta is also no stranger to the Tab, having featured as a source of information in last month's piece on the Phineas strawberry toilet, thanks to his job behind the front desk at the CSC.

A fact that his many fans may not know, however, is that Vojta didn't know the difference between odd and even until he was 12. Good thing his Psychology and Language Sciences degree doesn't require that knowledge then…