Aaron Carlisle MBBS Medicine

Transcription

1 Aaron Carlisle MBBS Medicine My name is Aaron Carlisle. I have 3 younger siblings. I am the first person from my extended family to attend higher education. I come from a small town in Northern Ireland called Ballynahinch. I attended a Special Needs Primary School because of the consequences of severe tonsillitis affecting my speech. I completed my A levels in 2014 at a non-selective High School I was the first ever student at my school to get a place to study Medicine. I took a gap year and worked most of it. On my gap year I worked as I travelled in America and Europe. I loved exploring new places and meeting fascinating people. I like having international friendships. On my second attempt applying for Medicine, I was very fortunate to receive four offers. Especially from my top choice UEA! I chose UEA because of the difference between it and other universities. I knew I wanted a campus university. I wanted to experience that community student life, but at the same time away from home. I don t want to study Medicine. I want to train rigorously to be a doctor. I strongly want to pursue a career where I can make a difference by helping others. UEA s unique, vocational, spiralled curriculum helps me put what I ve learnt into practice from day one. During all of the open days I visited, UEA s stuck out the most. I got a feeling that I was a part of the campus community. I loved the hustle and bustle. I loved how much UEA emphasizes extra-curricular activities. I got a strong vibe that UEA would be the only university I could balance studying Medicine, while having a proper university experience by getting involved in extra-curricular activities to become a better-rounded individual. During my studies at UEA, I hope to intercalate with another degree in research or clinical education and take my Medical Elective at the end of fourth year abroad in a developing country; offering my medical skills to help the local community. The very thought of these amazing life opportunities would not have been possible without your kind, generous donation. This scholarship helps out in the little ways as well. It means I can use the limited free time I do have by taking part in hockey, the Christian Union and dodgeball. I hope to join the Mountaineering and Fell Society in the next semester to explore the beauty of Norfolk, Suffolk and the rest of England. My favourite memory of the first semester was when I was on placement. I sat down beside an elderly lady who recently had a stroke and had trouble speaking. I was warned she was having a poor talking day, but nevertheless, I wanted to see how she was. She reach and grasped my hand. After over half an hour of hand-holding, she pluck up some words from her vocal cords and managed to speak! I m glad I was patient enough and waded through the awkwardness of the hand-holding for half an hour, which seemed like a century because I found out, this lady, was the most interesting lady I have ever met in my entire life! I want to say a massive THANK YOU to the kind, generous donors who made this scholarship possible. I am without a doubt sure, that this has transformed not only my university life, but for the rest of my life after university. It s remarkable how life changing this means to me and I look forward to meeting you in the future and sharing with you how much of an impact it has had on my life today and for tomorrow. Best wishes, Aaron Carlisle

2 Fiona Sangster BAH English Literature and Creative Writing As a recipient of The Difference Undergraduate Scholarship, I am writing to say thank you for this amazing award. My name is Fiona Sangster and I am from Fakenham, Norfolk, which is a very small and uninteresting town that no one has ever heard of, so it s exciting to be here in the city! I partly chose to study at UEA because it is close to home, about an hour and a half on the bus, which means I can visit my mum, my sister and my dog on weekends. However even without this perk, I would have had UEA as my first choice as its reputation is unparalleled when it comes to the course I am doing, English Literature with Creative Writing. Even my uncle who is an English professor at a New York university had heard of the course! I chose creative writing because I am looking to become a screenwriter for television and film, and through creative writing I am acquiring the skills necessary to do this with seminars centring on things like structure and dialogue. I am thoroughly enjoying the course so far, bettering my writing through the constructive criticism of others. I have joined a few societies so far, mostly attending the meetings of the Disney society for free screenings of The Lion King. However, after Christmas I am looking to get more involved in the Creative Writing and Literature societies. Being here is so rewarding because Norwich is a beautiful city full of everything you could ever need, and the campus itself is always bursting with life, putting on parties that I often attend with my friends. One of the first weeks I was here, the LCR had a visit from children s TV legends the Chuckle Brothers, and I got a picture with them, which is definitely my best memory so far because it made everyone back home extremely jealous. I would like to again say thank you so much for donating to this scholarship. In my financial situation I cannot call my mum and ask for some money for food as many students do. This scholarship means I can support myself and not cause further financial strain on my mum, which means a lot to me. I honestly cannot thank you enough. Best wishes, Fiona Sangster

3 Jasper Haywood BAH History and Politics First of all, I d like to say a huge thank you for the scholarship! I would like to let you know about some of the areas the money will help me with. I feel like there is a sense of recognition through this award. Incentive for award does not drive me, yet, apart from my parents, this is one of the first times I have felt recognition in regards to my achievements, regardless of the money, that is a reason to be thankful. The money however, will help! I feel secure and as though the issues surrounding money have been alleviated. This not only helps the financial side of matters, but also allows me to focus on my work and other activities, therefore ending needless worries and concerns. I find this the most important benefit of the scholarship, and rest assured, this money will go to good uses! I am an active member of the North Norfolk Labour Party and hold the position of Youth Officer. This money will therefore allow me to pursue this avenue of my interests and I feel that it links the theoretical elements of my political modules to the more practical elements of politics. A number of conferences take place throughout the year and this money will help me attend them. This money will also help me in the purchasing of materials for my modules, like books. These will allow me to read around modules and engage in stimulating exploration of the course I am taking, an exploration that will allow me to go further than the requirements. This, I feel, proves my dedication to the hard work at hand, and acknowledges my determination to press on and do well, not just to achieve good employment, but to develop a sense of fulfilment and personal progress. I cannot explain how much this money will positively impact my life at university. Whatever I have had, I have always had to work hard to get. This money epitomises the work ethic that I believe in, hard work is what achieves success. Therefore, this scholarship will serve to further my need to work hard and push what I can do. I very much hope, and look forward, to meeting you in the near future and personally say thank you and put a face to the kindness of your donations. Once again, Thank You! Jasper Haywood

4 Mara Frampton BAH English Literature and Creative Writing I felt truly gratified when I learnt I would be recipient of the Difference Undergraduate scholarship and I know it will make my experience the University of East Anglia just that much better. I had been interested specifically in the English Literature and Creative Writing course here at UEA for considerable years before applying. That is why I was overwhelmed when I got my offer as my first choice and the scholarship came as an added bonus. It means that I don t have to worry about whether or not I can pay for accommodation, food and study supplies which takes off a lot of pressure as a student. This is why I would like to thank you for your kind donations which give students the opportunities they deserve. During my first semester at university I have tried to throw myself into as many activities and events that I am both interested in and have previously never had a chance to pursue. I attend Dharma regularly which is a mixture of yoga and meditation. I find this keeps me in touch with myself and is an effective stress reliever (I always leave the sessions happy!). The sessions are free and I have met friends through this and other societies. My interest in cinema has also grown through the free screenings twice a week at Cinema society. They show a wide range of world cinema which I would be unaware of otherwise. Probably one of my most worthwhile pursuits whilst being here has been joining Amnesty International, going to weekly meetings and taking part in campaigns. A day I will probably never forget is when I agreed to stand in the square on campus blindfolded during a demonstration for the My Body My Rights campaign. As a trust exercise, passers-by were encouraged to write bodypositive messages on a white t shirt I was wearing. This was an odd experience but it was inspiring at the end of the day when we realised how many signatures we had gained for our manifesto and to see all the lovely messages people had written. Furthermore I am also organising a film night to support the campaign. I have chosen to show Wadjda which is film about a little girl who wants to ride a bicycle but is not allowed as she is a girl. It is the only film to ever be directed by a woman on location in Saudi Arabia so it symbolizes quite a monumental step in both cinema and human rights. At home I always felt driven to pursue my own interests in a home environment. For instance, over the summer I built a plaster set of an imaginary planet called Amaravella and painted it copper. I then made alien characters with wire skeletons and fabric skins. I find embroidery relaxing and I can be quite arty with a needle and thread! My plan was to create a stop animation by taking many frames. This is a detailed and long process and requires dedication. My hope is that I can eventually finish the episodes that I have written screenplays for and showcase them possibly through YouTube. As my passion for animation grows I may even consider starting an animation society here at UEA as I believe they do not have one yet. This is why I want to meet as many like-minded people as possible who I could perhaps work creatively with. Though I am originally from Suffolk, I have found a real fondness for Norwich and have come to regard it as my second home. In such a short space of time I have done so much and made great friends. Living with thirteen other people has taught me a lot. Everyone has had very different experiences from which ever part of the world they are from but we have grown very close. My hope is that my creative writing course, which I have loved so far, will continue to open doors for me. With thanks and my best regards, Mara Frampton

5 Shannen Davie BAH English Literature My name is Shannen Davie. I m from a town outside Belfast in the North of Ireland. At A-Level I received A*AA in Politics, English Literature and Sociology. I chose to study English Literature at University because reading and writing literature has always been a passion of mine. After university, I m interested in a career in journalism and thought that a degree in English Literature would help me to build skills that would be useful for that career choice. In April 2014 I visited the University of East Anglia for the first time. My brother was in his second year here, studying Business Management. I was adamant that I wasn t going to study at UEA because I wanted to have my own experience at university, separate from my family. However, when I visited the campus, I felt so at home at the University and in Norwich that I immediately decided that I wanted to study here. At UEA, I m most looking forward to building on my knowledge of English Literature and learning new skills which would have been closed off to me if I hadn t had the chance to come to university. I m also looking forward to building on the passions which I have outside of my education. For example, I m very interested in issues of social justice, and I know that UEA has a brilliant reputation for upholding these for their students e.g. the presence of gender-neutral toilets in the Student s Union. My favourite part of university so far has been the many opportunities to meet people from all walks of life which I might never have the chance to meet if I had stayed in Belfast. I d like to say a huge thank you for donating a scholarship to me. It means more than anything to me that I have been awarded this scholarship, not just because the money will be a huge help to me but because it has given me a huge boost in my confidence at university. I ll never be able to express in words how thankful I am. Yours Sincerely, Shannen Davie