Supporting our young people to achieve their potential!
Our Trustees were delighted to award the first ‘WAT Next’ bursaries in June, to two young university students from the WAT IF? area. Amanda Neilands and Anja Ormiston have both been awarded a bursary of £2,000 which will help to support them through their chosen studies. The WAT Next? scheme is designed to raise aspirations, improve equality of access to further or higher education, and address access and transport problems faced byyoung people in our rural area.
There was a lot of interest shown in the WAT Next Education Support Bursary and the Trustees were impressed by the strength of the applications received, with applicants presenting the range of studies they are pursuing and the problems that they face.
Daisy Ford-Downes who developed the WAT Next Bursary said “It’s fantastic to see so many of our young people thriving in education, and we are delighted to support them through the WAT Next? Scheme. I was fortunate enough to benefit from a similar scheme in the rural area where I grew up. I’m so pleased that we are able to offer assistance to young people in Woolfords, Auchengray and Tarbrax, who are working so hard to achieve their ambitions but experience difficulties in accessing opportunities due to access or transport problems.”
Congratulations to the winners of the WAT Next Bursary – we asked them to tell us a bit about themselves and how the bursary would help their studies.
Our Trustees were delighted to award the first ‘WAT Next’ bursaries in June, to two young university students from the WAT IF? area. Amanda Neilands and Anja Ormiston have both been awarded a bursary of £2,000 which will help to support them through their chosen studies. The WAT Next? scheme is designed to raise aspirations, improve equality of access to further or higher education, and address access and transport problems faced byyoung people in our rural area.
There was a lot of interest shown in the WAT Next Education Support Bursary and the Trustees were impressed by the strength of the applications received, with applicants presenting the range of studies they are pursuing and the problems that they face.
Daisy Ford-Downes who developed the WAT Next Bursary said “It’s fantastic to see so many of our young people thriving in education, and we are delighted to support them through the WAT Next? Scheme. I was fortunate enough to benefit from a similar scheme in the rural area where I grew up. I’m so pleased that we are able to offer assistance to young people in Woolfords, Auchengray and Tarbrax, who are working so hard to achieve their ambitions but experience difficulties in accessing opportunities due to access or transport problems.”
Congratulations to the winners of the WAT Next Bursary – we asked them to tell us a bit about themselves and how the bursary would help their studies.
Amanda Neilands
Having lived in the area all my life I have taken part in many Bing races, pantomimes and bowling competitions and I am extremely grateful for this grant. When I first heard the term ‘Radiographer’ I had no idea what a person with this job title might do. I found the job description interesting so decided to visit a department on my work experience and find out what a radiographer does. After my work experience I was certain this is what I wanted as a career and spent the rest of my school years getting the qualifications I needed to get into University. Receiving this grant just as I am starting my fourth and final year at Queen Margaret University will make a huge difference to me. My course requires me to travel not only to university but to various placement sites which can include traveling to the Borders General, Forth Valley Royal Hospital, St. John’s and all the hospitals in Edinburgh. As I stay at home my travel costs are very high which is where the grant will be extremely useful in taking the burden off my travel costs as well as aiding in buying texts books and other resources. All going well I will be graduating next July and will be a fully qualified radiographer. I plan to spend a few years carrying out general radiography to build my skills up and after that hopefully specialise in CT. |
Anja Ormiston
I began playing the violin when I was seven years old, and have aspired to become a professional musician since I was 12. Whilst still at school, I was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, and participated in numerous music courses both in the UK and abroad. My parents moved to Tarbrax in 1984 and I lived in Tarbrax all my life until I moved to Glasgow in order to study Music Performance (BMus Hons) at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. After graduating in 2015, I took some time out from formal education to work as an instrumental instructor and a freelance violinist, and I am now looking forward to broadening my skills and career opportunities by undertaking a two year Master’s degree in viola performance at the RCS. I am absolutely delighted to receive this bursary as it will enable me to focus more fully on my studies with considerably less pressure to earn a living at the same time. Once I have completed the Master’s degree, I will audition for a place in an orchestra, as I really enjoy playing in orchestras and there are many opportunities to travel the world whilst on tour, and I would be able to continue teaching and doing some freelance work as well. |