The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Students honoured at college prizegiving
Students rewarded for ‘impressive contributions’ in their fields of study
More than 100 talented students were honoured during Dundee and Angus College’s annual prizegiving ceremony.
A total of 112 prizes were up for grabs at the event, held at the Gardyne Campus yesterday evening.
Honours for impressive contributions to fields including acting, plumbing and games development were all on offer.
Principal Grant Ritchie, along with sponsors from industry and commerce, presented awards to students.
Also present at the event was special guest Lord Provost Ian Borthwick.
Emma Smith, from Crieff, was among the award-winners, winner of the Leng Trust Prize for Outstanding Endeavour, joining the ranks of students who excelled in their subject and pushed themselves just that little bit harder.
Emma, 21, enrolled in the HNC care and administrative practice last year, with a view to pursuing a career in mental health nursing.
Already with two children under three, within months of starting her course, Emma discovered she was going to have another baby.
Undaunted, she handed in her assignments well ahead of schedule and gained excellent results.
Unfortunately, disaster struck when she ended up on crutches and couldn’t even drive to Gardyne Campus.
She said: “Without the support of my family I would never have managed. My lecturers and tutors were all so amazing.”
Award-winning beauty therapist Agne Balciene was another student to enjoy success.
The mother-of-two has landed awards from both the AHT (Association of Hairdressers and Therapists) and Worldskills UK, and yesterday she received an SQA Beauty Therapy Award.
She said: “I think I have been very lucky. D&A staff have entered me for a range of competitions and I hope I have repaid the trust they placed in me.”
Agne plans to return to D&A’s Kingsway Campus next year to begin an HNC course.
Close to 200 people attended the prizegiving event.
In addition to the prizegiving celebration, 300 examples of work were put on public display as part of the college’s end-of-year art show.
The D&A College art show will present the work of about 200 students from a range of programmes.
The show opens at 6pm tomorrow and runs until next Friday.
Without the support of my family I would never have managed. My lecturers and tutors were all so amazing. EMMA SMITH