To hear from award winner Paddy McCauley, please click HERE
On Wednesday 1 February, South Eastern Regional College (SERC) held its annual Student Excellence Awards Ceremony to celebrate the achievements of the best performing students of 2011.
The ceremony, which was held at the Colleges’ Downpatrick Campus, is an opportunity for SERC to honour and reward those students whose commitment to learning and training has set them apart from their peers. It is also a chance for the students to celebrate their achievements with family and friends and the lecturers that helped them succeed.
The awards not only recognise those who achieve academic excellence but also students who have shown commitment and dedication to education and personal development and who have overcome difficulties in order to succeed.
The ceremony, one of the most uplifting events in the College calendar, was attended by The Chairman of Down District Council, Councillor Dermot Curran, and special guest Dr Ryan Milligan, former SERC student and now Research Associate for Queens University Belfast.
Down District Council Chairman, Cllr Dermot Curran was thrilled to be attending the event and commented, “I am extremely impressed and inspired by the stories of personal and professional development demonstrated by the Award nominees tonight.
They are a credit to SERC and I would encourage people of the district who are looking for a new challenge to think about enrolling in a part-time, full-time or trainee course at the Downpatrick Campus.”
Awards were presented to outstanding students from across the Colleges’ study areas, as well as, Apprentice of the Year, Trainee of the Year and Student of the Year Award.
SERC Governor, David Lamb presided over the ceremony and he had this message for the audience;
“Tonight is about celebrating the success of a number of students. But I must highlight that we have literally thousands of success stories.
“Tonight is also about saying thank you to some very important people. Firstly to businesses who provide invaluable support to the College. We consider you our friends and partners in providing a world class education for students. Businesses provide work placements, projects and student visits all making the learning experience a more valuable one.”
David continued; “I would like to congratulate the students’ for their excellent work. It is obvious we have a lot of talent in our local community who will go on to work in, or indeed start, businesses both locally and globally.”
Guest speaker Dr Ryan Milligan, gave an inspiring speech. He praised the students on what they’ve already achieved. “I am extremely honoured to be amongst such talented and hardworking students,” he said. “I want to encourage you all to continue to follow your dreams and visions.”
Ken Webb, Principal and Chief Executive for SERC said: “Our Award winners were joined on the evening by their parents, partners, family and friends, who play a major role in the students’ success. Without the support and encouragement of those around us, success is much more difficult to achieve.
“We are very grateful to our partners and local companies for their generous sponsorship of this evening.
“Our staff have improved student success rates, keeping us in the top ten per cent of colleges nationally. They have also helped learners to win national awards, medals in global competitions and progress to some of the most prestigious universities, as well as helping many students to find employment – a remarkable achievement in such challenging economic times.”
Richard McAteer, Business Studies student, was chosen from the award winners to be named ‘Student of the Year’ for the School of Business, Finance and Management.
As well as awarding a Student of the Year for each school within the College, there was also a selection of special awards presented to students who have positively contributed to student life. One such winner was Aishleen McCormick who was recognised for ‘Excellence to Commitment to Enhancing Student Learning Experience’.
Aishleen, is studying Catering at the Colleges Downpatrick Campus.
The awards ceremony was kindly sponsored by Mount Charles Group, City and Guilds, Knox & Clayton, Down Education Partnership, Haldane Fisher and Down News.
The awards recognised both part-time and full-time students at SERC. The full-time prospectus for courses starting in September 2012 will be available at all SERC campuses from the beginning of February. The College is also still enrolling for a variety of part-time courses starting in January and February, check out the www.serc.ac.uk for course details or call into your nearest campus and pick up a copy of the part-time prospectus.