2024 Leaders at TUS Scholarships celebrate a decade of providing supports to students

Leaders at TUS Scholarships Ceremony 2024, Moylish Campus – recipient, Aaron Davern, Business Studies, Social Pol Kilfinane with Sponsor Dubheasa Forde, Northern Trust, Professor Vincent Culhane, President TUS, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Gerald Mitchell and Guest Speaker, Joy Neville, Head Coach of World Rugby Elite Female Referees. Picture: Alan Place

A total of 150 students have received Leaders at TUS scholarships since 2014 with and investment of more than €1.4 million.

Self-belief, hard work, and the right support structure is key to achieving your goals. That was the message from retired Rugby World Cup official, former Referee of the Year and Grand Slam winning captain Joy Neville to this year’s Leaders at TUS Scholarship recipients.

“At some points in our lives when someone tells you, you can’t achieve something, even if it comes from the best place in their heart, you have a choice. You can be one of two people – the person who takes that opinion and follows it, or the person who has self-belief, puts a good plan in place, and with a bit of luck achieves whatever they put their mind to. It hasn’t always been easy, and it won’t always be easy but that is life,” said the former TUS employee and student Neville, who made history when named by World Rugby to officiate as a TMO at the Men’s Rugby World Cup in France.

Joy Neville was special guest at the Scholarship 10^th anniversary celebration this week, as 11 students were presented with their scholarships for the 2023 -2024 academic year at a special ceremony in the Millennium Theatre, Technological University of the Shannon, Moylish Campus on Monday (April 22, 2024).

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A total of 150 students have been assisted with access to higher education at TUS through these scholarships since 2014, thanks to an investment of more than €1.4 million by companies from the regions and private individuals.

This year, the scholarship was expanded to the Athlone campus ensuring students at all TUS campuses could benefit from this unique support.

The objective of this academic scholarships is to support access to higher education, and help students overcome challenges to remaining in education.

During the ceremony students shared stories of resilience and determination as they continued their education with the support of these scholarships.

Congratulating the scholarship recipients and expressing pride in their achievements to date, Professor Vincent Cunnane, President of TUS, highlighted how these scholarships go beyond supporting the individual recipient.

“Leaders at TUS is a supportive partnership between TUS, businesses and the wider community that makes a huge difference to the lives of these determined, hardworking and talented scholarship recipients and their families. The impact of these scholarship also reaches beyond the individual, with the long-term benefit of the Leaders at TUS scholarships also positively impacting the supporting companies, the community and indeed the local economy with highly employable, work ready graduates, who have already proven their determination to succeed,” he said.

Dr Liam Brown, Vice President Research, Development, Innovation TUS, thanked the donors for their continuous support. “These scholarships make a meaningful difference to the lives of students, allowing them to focus on their studies, giving them the greatest chance of success. We are particularly thankful to the donors whose financial contributions make this programme possible. I would also like to thank the TUS staff and all involved including the schools that help to make this programme so successful.”

Speaking at the Leaders at TUS presentation ceremony and 10 year celebration, scholarship recipient, Medical Technology student Farah Osman said, “This award really meant a lot to me; it gave me the opportunity to maximise class attendance and the energy to raise my grades by getting the motivation to focus on my study. This semester I have achieved higher grades than the previous semester which is all thanks to the Leaders at TUS scholarship and my sponsor. The scholarship also gave me a confidence and assurance about my future career opportunities.”

Medical Technology student Caoimhe Hackett spoke about her positive experience of the Leaders at TUS scholarship programme.

“My overall sense from the beginning was that everybody wanted me to succeed and really wanted to get to know me as a person,” she said, paying tribute to the sponsors, TUS, her fellow recipients and her supportive family.

Aaron Davern who is studying Business Studies thanked the donors to the scholarship programme and TUS staff for their continuous support and mentoring. “This scholarship has helped to cut my four hour a day commute to a 10 minute walk, and helped me to perform the way that I knew I could as I have more energy to work and study.”

Five new sponsors joined the Leaders at TUS programme this year, bringing to 48 the number of businesses and individuals who have supported these scholarships since 2014.

For further information about the range of TUS scholarships, click here.

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