“My time at UCD has been incredibly productive and I am really enjoying my time here. While feeling overwhelmed or alone is a constant concern for students, and can be inevitable for some people, I feel quite connected to the academic staff, the library, the lecturers and tutors within my course. I feel that I always have a network full of incredible and helpful people available for me to reach out to, which has helped my mindset immensely. 

This year, I have been very focused on time management, and achieving a balance between work, life, and study.. Third year has seriously ramped up in what is expected of students. I work two jobs from Friday-Sunday, so balancing a full time college career while maintaining a 3.85-3.9 GPA is pretty difficult! However, the people around me, the staff and the facilities of UCD have all helped me immensely.

I had depleted quite a lot of my savings making my way into UCD; there are a lot of hoops to jump through when applying as a mature student. The scholarship has been instrumental in helping me to achieve a sense of control when it comes to my finances, allowing me to focus more on my studies, freed from the worries of small expenses that can easily take root in anxious and stressed minds. 

After the COVID lockdowns, and experiencing unemployment and a death in my immediate family, the scholarship has really helped to level out my mental health when it came to the litany of expenses that seemed impossible to manage. I literally would not have been able to make ends meet had I not received this scholarship. 

This is actually my second time attempting university, with my first having to end early due to mental health issues as well as financial issues. Without the scholarship, I believe my anxieties might have re-emerged, made worse by my lack of financial stability. Had I not received the scholarship, I likely would have had to take a year out to take on more work and interrupt my course in university, which would have been detrimental to my overall progress here in college.

The very first payment of my scholarship in 2021 went towards a bicycle. Since then, it has been my main form of transport. That was life-changing, honestly, as transport in and out of UCD can be less than ideal – My bike has made getting to and from UCD so easy and enjoyable. Since then, the money has mostly been used to sustain my living situation by helping to support my bills and upkeep around my house. This extra support has given me the little bit of free time to regularly attend philosophy seminars and lectures from visiting professors and scholars that are way above my head but contribute greatly to what I’m studying in both Information & Communication Studies and Philosophy. Those have been greatly influential and motivational in my studies, especially since UCD is so invested in its incredibly influential School of Philosophy. 

As for short term goals, I really intend to just maintain my GPA to a high standard and see about some work experience in the field for the summer, as I have a few contacts in my network who will help me to achieve this. After graduating, I intend to enrol in a Masters program in Library and Information Studies with the goal of becoming a professional librarian, archivist or information officer. 

Those who know what it is like to stress from week to week, and to feel anxiety in the form of financial instability know that this is not the toil and struggle that hardens people – this is the toil and struggle that reduces one’s worldview to that of base survival needs; Of how they are going to afford food or medicine or heating. This is not the sort of mental environment where one achieves their goals and reaches their capabilities. In supporting a scholarship, you are helping to foster the potential in a human being who is able to fulfil their goals and dreams, guiding their future towards making a difference and inspiring others like them. This is what academia and learning is all about. Support, help, and achievement.”