The Excellence Scholarship provided mother of three Denise Williams the necessary financial support that allowed her to focus on her studies.
The money that the Business with Sociology student received from the scholarship went towards helping her pay for childcare costs, giving her more time to study and attend classes, along with funding some of her travel expenses to University and covering the cost of books.
In July 2016, Denise graduated with a first-class honours degree, a just reward for the hard work and dedication she had put in to her course.
She had been sitting on the borderline of a first coming into her final year, and was left in no doubt of the importance of the scholarship in helping her achieve top marks.
“The Excellence Scholarship has allowed me to stay committed to my studies, taking advantage of childcare options which would have otherwise been inaccessible due to affordability,” she said. “I have also been able to develop my skills further through proactively taking part in additional development opportunities offered by the University.”
Amongst the opportunities Denise was able to take part in thanks to the extra money was the University’s Leading Lights programme. The four day event allows students to connect with business leaders, develop their own leadership skills and discuss their career aspirations with a professional mentor. It proved to be hugely beneficial for Denise and enhanced her knowledge of the business world.
She continued: “The Leading Lights Course was an inspirational experience which allowed me to see leadership in practice in various different organisations. I gained so much self belief and confidence in my own ability and was able to really get involved in tasks and establish relationships with leaders through networking.
Denise also paid tribute to the donors behind the Fund who made the financial opportunity possible for her and added that she hoped the scheme would prove to be just as helpful for the students of tomorrow.
She stated: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the contributors to the fund that make it possible and the staff that process and assess applications. I will forever be grateful to the University for offering schemes like this and I hope that future students will continue to benefit from the Excellence Award.”
In the near future, Denise plans to continue her affiliation with Sunderland, studying an MBA at the University and has set herself the ambitious target of becoming the CEO of a major organisation as her long term goal. She ended by urging any high achieving students in need of financial assistance to apply for the fund.
She concluded: “The scholarship has enhanced my degree and I really believe that this will help me to stand out as a candidate for potential jobs in the future. The excellence scholarship really can make the difference between achieving a 2:1 and a First and I would urge anyone on the borderline to apply.”
Article written by Matthew Shevlin, University of Sunderland Journalism graduate.