My Scholarship Story

When I received a message from Nottingham asking if I’d like to write about my experiences receiving a scholarship, my answer was a huge YES! It’s an honour to have the chance to tell alumni how much it means to me to be a student at this great university, and how grateful I am for the scholarship that made this possible.

It has been more than a dream to become a student here, and one that I thought I had no right to reach. So, to know that it’s the generosity of alumni that made it possible is overwhelming.

I never really had a sense of stability growing up. I lived all over Surrey and the outskirts of London, and then at 15 I entered foster care and hopped care homes many times. It felt like I didn’t really belong anywhere.

But among all this chaos I was still able to keep up with my studies and had some inspiring teachers that fuelled my love of learning. Still, university felt like a shot in the dark for me, because I was just a girl with nowhere to call home, no money to my name, and no support network to help fund my place.

I began to lose hope.

My scholarship – and the kindness of alumni like you – changed everything. I never thought I would get to university at all… all the odds were against me. So, to be writing to you as a student at a Russell Group university that has the best community… I could never thank those who supported me enough!

For me, the scholarship made me start to feel that I can achieve what I want in life – because if someone believed in me enough to fund my scholarship, then maybe I should believe in myself too. It really has transformed everything. Here at Nottingham, it’s the first time that I feel like I belong. I used to struggle with my mental health, but since I got here, I haven’t struggled at all. It’s fantastic and really shows that I must be in the right place.

I’m studying American and Canadian studies because when I was doing my A-Levels, I had a brilliant English literature teacher who was just so passionate about American literature and passed this onto me.

It’s amazing how much more I’m learning now too, and all the lecturers have that same passion that I love. My favourite module is Approaches to Contemporary America, where one of the topics was ‘The Exploitation of Student Athletes in College Sports.’ It was so shocking, and I would recommend having a read into it.

On behalf of another student who might be wondering if there will be some special way for their Nottingham dream to come true. I can tell you from personal experience, a scholarship will mean more to them than you could ever imagine.