Thanks to your donation to the Hallam Fund, students will be able to develop their critical thinking skills and broaden their professional networks through The Hallam Fund Career Mentoring Bursary.

For many of our students, making the transition from education to employment can be challenging. Having a mentor can help prepare students for life after their time at Sheffield Hallam; providing them with the knowledge and confidence needed to succeed in their chosen career paths.

However, regularly travelling across the country to meet a mentor, paying for accommodation and taking time out from a part time job can leave students out of pocket. The Hallam Fund Career Mentoring Bursary has been set up to ensure that all students have access to networks of professional people to help them make decisions about their future career. The bursary aims to bridge the gap for those students who lack work experience and prioritises funding towards students who are from under-represented groups (lower income families, ethnic minorities).

Care leaver, Ella Fage, took part in the scheme last year whilst studying for her degree in Media. Ella said, "Without becoming involved with the mentoring scheme, I don't think I would have had the confidence or courage needed to take risks and pursue my goals. I now have an increased awareness of the communications industry and have been able to network with some inspiring individuals”.

"Attending my mentor's workshops in London allowed me to grow in confidence, see his work in action, and learn from other like-minded professionals. It allowed me to experience a creative setting in practice, which inspired me to keep on pursing my ambitions for the future. Without the bursary, I would have been stressed and may have had to drop out of the scheme because of the financial implications travelling could have caused."

Find out more about how donations like yours are helping students from all backgrounds access career enhancing opportunities by clicking here.