It has been a record year for City of Westminster College, as nine Access to Business students have been awarded scholarships to University of Westminster to study for degrees in the Business Studies field. The scholarships, awarded to applicants who show great merit, provide much-needed funds to assist with living costs.
Gold scholarships (£4,000) go to Abu Bakarr Sesay; Gelila Gobena and Cajaruban Sabaratnam. Silver scholarships
(£2,000) have been awarded to: Zaira Hernandez; Naomi Inniss: Alvina Liventsova;
Daniel Memaj; Ermias Taddesse and Malgorzata Turska.
Gold Scholarship winner Abu Bakarr Sesay, 26, was born in Sierra Leone but left nine years ago because of the war. He says: “Education is a privilege in Sierra Leone. This scholarship will allow me to support myself and my son and continue my education. I want to study Economics at university because I am particularly interested in changing the behaviour of banks and the way government and politics are run in my country.”
Gold Scholarship winner Gelila Gobena, 27, is from Ethiopia and plans to study International Business. She says: “I am very excited about what the future holds. I hope, following the completion of the degree, to pursue a career in business and be able to travel and work overseas.”
Silver Scholarship winner Daniel Memaj is from Albania and will study Business Management. He says: “The Access programme equipped me with the foundation in business that I need. I would like to say that all the teachers have been great during the course in supporting the students.”
City of Westminster College Business and Community Studies Lecturer Hilary Matthews has been assisting students apply for scholarships to University of Westminster since 2006 and a total of 34 Access to Business students have received awards enabling them to continue their studies at degree level.
Access to HE Diploma is an intensive one-year course accredited by the Open College Network London Region. The qualification enables students to apply for degree-level study at British Universities. In addition to Business and Business with English, City of Westminster College offers Access programmes in Computing, Humanities & Social Sciences, Nursing, Photography and Science. It also offers a Pre-Access programme in Science & Health Studies.