164. Newcastle University Supporters’ Event The Gherkin 18 April 2024


As Master of the Company and a Trustee of the Water Conservation Trust, I was invited to a Supporter Thank You Event in London.  For several years the Trust has provided an annual bursary for a Newcastle University postgraduate student on a water and environmental degree, as well as awarding an annual dissertation prize.  It was a useful opportunity to learn more about the ways the Campaign for Newcastle University is making a difference.

The evening was opened by Professor Anya Hurlbert, Dean of Advancement, and started with Ruth Sunderland, Group Business Editor of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, sharing her experience of giving back her time and expertise to support students, highlighting the integral role that volunteering plays in enhancing the university experience.

It was an absolute privilege to hear the stories of two students, Emma and Charlotte-Ann.  Emma’s dedication to PhD research into the immune response to respiratory viruses underlines the importance of donor-funding to support the careers of future scientists.  Charlotte-Ann has a serious underlying health issue and, together with her mother Sam, spoke about the great challenges that many students face in reaching higher education, and how her scholarship has been used to buy equipment and resources needed to flourish in her degree.  Her desire to make a difference in the world, despite facing many barriers, was truly inspiring.  I had a fascinating chat with her and it was so encouraging to hear how she manages personal challenges and appreciates the support of the University.

Newcastle University is very committed to helping local students and those who would otherwise struggle to access university education.  Last year they offered over 200 scholarships; they have 161 alumni mentors and a £70 million support fund.

It was a very interesting evening hearing from students and staff about the benefits of the type of support our Trust provides.  There were also super views from the top of the Gherkin.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

230. Installation Court, Apothecaries’ Hall, 3 July 2024

Image
The Installation Court was held in the magnificent setting of the Apothecaries’ Hall. The focus of the Court meeting was on the growth of the Company and increased activity and income. The Company was very pleased to welcome Liam Hogg, Lee Morton and Gerald O’Shaughnessy as new Liverymen, and Martin Ballard, Avtar Jirh, Tom Morton, Michael Nates, Lina Nieto, Elizabeth Price, Mark Smith, John Ward, Judy West and John Wylie as new Freemen of the Company.
Read more

229. Sunset Cruise and Dinner, River Thames, 2 July 2024

Image
My thank you event for the Court and Company had to involve water, so what better way than a sunset cruise on the Thames!   I wanted a memorable expression of thanks to members of the Court, Past Masters, Fellow Masters, Consorts and friends. I took the advice of the Master Waterman and approached several companies to hire a boat for the evening. The first we declined when we found that the catering was not of the required standard. Everything was going well for the second boat until I advertised it to the Court and had more responses than could fit on the boat. So we got a bigger boat and filled it. The caterer was concerned how they could feed us all but I was confident it would work. On Monday morning I took a call from the boat company to say that the refuelling on Saturday night had resulted in contaminated oil getting to the engine and they offered a fourth boat …. the Wellington ! I politely declined, as I knew the Wellington would not be cruising anywhere. Eventually the...
Read more

79.Lord Mayor's Address to the Livery, Mansion House, 22 November 2023

Image
I have taken so many pictures of the current Lord Mayor standing at a lectern I thought that it was about time for a change so a previous Lord Mayor instead.   One of 625! This was one of the occasions when Masters had to be at the Mansion House to hear the Lord Mayor.   It was an impressive but informal occasion. The Lord Mayor started with thanks to the cadet forces from the Army, Navy and Air Force for their help at the Lord Mayor’s show.   He then outlined his vision and plans for the year ahead.   In particular he emphasised the importance of the Livery and cross-Livery working.   We were given a handout on 12 of the different pan-Livery activities.   Although we have engaged with many of them, I felt that we were active members of relatively few and we needed to revisit our pan-Livery activities. The Lord Mayor then focused on his theme of Connect to Prosper and the various initiatives that were helping to deliver it.   He described the seri...
Read more