Architectural Technology student Emily is one of our scholars at Sheffield Hallam University. Emily has always been interested in design and the built environment which led her to this course.

Before Emily applied for this course, she had many doubts about university. She cares for her disabled mum which meant she had to stay at home and wouldn't have had the money to move into student halls, without working full time alongside university. However, Emily took a chance and applied for the course at Sheffield Hallam and continued to work hard for her a-level results. She soon realised that the course was exactly what she wanted to do. Being autistic, Emily was able to stay at home and attend Sheffield Hallam which was a great benefit for her. She was able to work weekends to support her travel costs train journeys into town but relied on the technology she already owned for assignments, so the cost wasn't as high.

At the start of her first year, she received an email about applying for a scholarship and decided to have a go at applying. She had no hopes that she would be chosen for the funding, but she felt it was worth trying.

‘When I found out I had been awarded the scholarship I was in the car travelling with my mum and I actually cried. The relief of finding out I wasn't going to struggle through university financially was so great. Before this, the stress of my finances had been weighing in the back of my mind and was impacting not just my studies but also the social aspect of university.'

The scholarship made the most difference to Emily during the pandemic. She was working from a laptop that didn’t have a graphics card and therefore could not run some of the software she needed for her assignments. Attempting to use a virtual desktop at the same time as the rest of the university wasn't very easy. If anyone else in her house even thought about using the internet it would crash. Thankfully, the scholarship funding allowed her to purchase a PC that runs all the software smoothly, without any issues. The funding gave her the opportunity invest in equipment that will last her years to come and will be beneficial to her future career as well as improve her studies at Sheffield Hallam University.

Emily is currently on placement and is enjoying her work experience. As she is still living at home for the placement, she travels from Rotherham to Leeds most days and needed a car. Emily was able to put together her savings along with what she had left over from her scholarship and bought herself a car which allowed her to attend her placement.

None of this would have been possible without the generosity of our donors. With their support, our students can continue to study the courses they are passionate about.