Redbridge College Student Awards presented by a Professor and a Paralympic Champion
Particle physicist and recent OBE winner, Professor Brian Cox and Paralympic Champion Danny Crates presented students with their achievement certificates at the annual Redbridge College Student Awards last night (24/06/10).
Professor Cox, who gave a 10 min presentation on his favourite collection of solar system images and talked about his latest work on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, handed out awards to 60 of the College’s top students as part of the evening’s celebrations.
Further on in the programme Danny Crates was joined on stage by special guest Trudy Kilcullen, Chief Operating Officer for the Jack Petchey Foundation, where they presented each of the College’s 36 Jack Petchey Award winners from the past 12 months with a medallion. Danny then spoke to the audience about his experiences as a Paralympic Champion, including his journey to the podium, which included a horrific car accident causing him to lose his right arm. His positive message about not giving up on your dreams rang though the room and was an apt conclusion to the evening.
The Student of the Year was also announced: Lei Wang, 23, from Barking was picked as Redbridge College’s top student because of his determination, commitment and dedication to his studies of ICT.
He said, “I am really happy and surprised. I didn’t think that I would win”.
During the announcement of Student of the Year, the Principal, Theresa Drowley was also delighted to announce that former Redbridge College student of Medical Science and winner of the Student of the Year 2007, Chih Hung Ku has just been accepted to study his PhD in Pathology at Cambridge University.
The evening also included a ‘Highlights of the Year’ slideshow, a performance by music students HSK and refreshments made and served by hospitality and catering students.
Professor Brian Cox commented, “This is my third time presenting awards at the college and each time it’s a different experience. It really is a pleasure to be here and I find it so moving seeing the students achieving at such a high level. Hearing about some of the backgrounds that the students come from and some of the challenges that they face makes it even more worth while being able to share their special evening; I would love to come back year after year!”
Danny added, “The event tonight was fantastic and well received by all the students and their guests. This is my first visit to Redbridge College and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. The students are obviously conscientious and it is very important that events like these recognise their hard work and success.”
The evening would not have been possible without the kind donations of several sponsors, including Swift Electrical, Gear, Beauty Express, Football 1st, Lash Perfect, Newtec, Thomas Ridley and 3663.
Martin Narey, Chairman of the corporation for Redbridge College concluded the evening by saying “The awards ceremony was fantastic and it was so exciting to be joined by two prestigious speakers, Professor Brian Cox OBE and Danny Crates. Events like these only work well if they are organised properly and this was exceptional. It is so important to recognise the student’s success and celebrate how their lives have been changed by Redbridge College.”
