Students awarded with financial grant from established engineering charity

Two GCU students have had their academic achievement recognised by an from an established engineering charity, which rewards winners with a financial grant of £300.

Graduate Apprentice (Environmental Civil Engineering) and Computer-Aided Mechanical Engineering students Sarah Speirs and Jordan Rose were presented with the Hammerman award on Thursday 20 April at a prestigious ceremony at the Trades Hall of Glasgow.

The Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow is a charity based on engineering trades founded in 1536, supporting pensioners and students in engineering courses in the west of Scotland.

Each year, The Incorporation of Hammermen presents 24 Hammermen awards of £300 to engineering students in the four colleges and universities within the greater Glasgow area.

Sarah, who is due to graduate in the summer, was encouraged to apply towards the award after meeting the award’s criteria. She explained: “I was encouraged to apply for a Hammermen award by one of my lecturers as I meet the criteria of being an undergraduate student in a technical discipline.

The process involved filling out an application form summarising my qualifications and work experience and stating how I would use the Hammermen prize money to develop professionally.”

Sarah had initially never heard of the award, so was pleasantly surprised to hear that she had been successful in her application. She said: “It felt amazing to receive the award and to be recognised for my hard work over the past few years and came as a nice surprise towards the end of a busy academic term.

I’m grateful for those at GCU who recommended applying as I hadn’t heard of it before.”

Now at the end of her degree, Sarah wants to use her achievement to pass on some advice to those who are about to embark on their educational journey. She advised: “I’d say stick at it, and you’ll achieve more than you ever knew you could!

Undertaking a degree can be challenging at times but it’s the best feeling looking back at the end, seeing how far you’ve come and knowing ‘I did that’.”

By Rachael McAlonan

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