A mature student from Telford has become the latest recipient of a scholarship awarded by the organisers of Newport Show.
Kym Smith, who is studying for a degree in Food, Nutrition and Wellbeing at Harper Adams University, won the £1,000 bursary in a competitive process.
The Newport and District Agricultural Society makes the award annually and the bursary scheme is open to all second and final year BSc and final year Foundation degree students at the university who live in Shropshire or Staffordshire.
Applicants had to submit a CV along with a statement about their course and details about how the bursary would benefit their future studies. A shortlist of students then faced an interview panel made up of Society members before Kym was selected.
Mature student Kym, aged 39, said she was delighted to have won the scholarship after swapping a career in social care and teaching for university life.
“I worked as a food technology teacher and realised how much science goes into food so that’s why I chose this degree. I am learning about all aspects of food production from farm to fork and I am looking forward to putting this into practice.
“I’d like to work in the technical side of food production and work for an organisation that focuses on the whole food chain, including farmers. The scholarship from the Society will be a great help to me.”
Kym will use the scholarship to fund extra training including a qualification in food hygiene and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) training that is vital in food production.
The mum of one from St Georges gave a presentation at a recent meeting of the Society about her plans and also won a year’s membership of the organisation.
The society’s Chairman of Trustees Robert Watson Jones said: “The judging panel was very impressed by Kym’s passion for her subject and how she aspires to use what she is learning for the benefit of the agricultural community.
“She was a very worthy recipient and we are very pleased that the Society’s Higher Education Scholarship will be able to make a difference to her studies.”
