We congratulate Lorna Clemans on being awarded a Distinction in the MA in Humanitarianism and Conflict Response at Manchester University. A grant from the Reid Trust enabled her to intercalate the MA into her medical degree and she currently works as a junior doctor at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. Lorna’s ultimate aim is to do medical humanitarian work overseas and she also has an academic interest in global health. She writes: “During my MA I completed some really interesting research projects, some of which I had the opportunity to present at academic conferences. I won the Norah Schuster prize (a history of medicine award) for my essay on the humanitarian response to the Cambodian Khmer Rouge genocide and presented my findings at the Royal Society of Medicine conference in London. For my master’s dissertation I researched inequities in urban child health globally. I presented this at an international conference for paediatrics run by the Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health in Birmingham. Thank you to the Reid Trust for all that their grant has helped me achieve.”
Success Stories
Have you received a grant from the Reid Trust? Please get in touch and let us know what difference the Reid Trust has made to you!
Lorna Clemans
Elizabeth Atherton
We would also like to congratulate Elizabeth Atherton, a former Reid Trust grant holder (1999-2003), on her very successful career as a performer. Her versatility and acting skills are attested by her success in operatic roles ranging from Monteverdi to Sir Harrison Birtwistle. She has gained critical plaudits for performances with the English Touring opera, the Welsh National Opera and Opera North and has worked with many eminent conductors and leading orchestras at home and abroad.
Merlyn Griffiths
With support from the Reid Trust Merlyn Griffiths has successfully completed an MA in Stained Glass Conservation and Heritage Management at the University of York and gained a Distinction. In addition to her academic modules, Merlyn had the opportunity to study stained glass on a field trip to Catalonia and while on a studio placement with the York Glaziers' Trust she assisted in the construction and installation of a window designed by the Turner Prize winner Richard Wright and displayed at The Modern Institute in Glasgow (see yorkglazierstrust.org and themoderninstitute.com). We have been delighted to hear subsequently that Merlyn has been offered a job with the York Glaziers' Trust.
In 2012 Jenny Chapman was awarded an MSc with Distinction in Taxonomy and Biodiversity by Imperial College/Natural History Museum in London. She writes: “Completing the course would not have been possible without your generous support […] I have just been offered a job in the press office of the prestigious journal Nature.”
After obtaining a BSc in Veterinary Medicine from the Royal Veterinary College in London, Verity Browning graduated in June 2014 as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Kosice in Slovakia. A grant from the Reid Trust helped her complete her final year of study. She has now returned to the UK, registered as a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and begun work at a veterinary clinic in Bedford. We congratulate her warmly and wish her every success in her career.
We congratulate Robyn Bray, who has been awarded a doctorate by the University of Glasgow for a dissertation entitled ‘“A Scholar, a Gentleman, and a Christian”: John Josias Conybeare (1779-1824) and his “Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry” (1826)’. She writes, “There is simply no way that I would have been able to support myself through postgraduate study without the help I received.”
We would like to congratulate Amélie Addison on her successes. Support from the Reid Trust helped her to gain an MMus in Baroque cello playing in 2010 from Trinity College of Music. Since then Amélie has founded the duo Due Corde with violinist Anne Marie Christensen. Their debut album was released in July 2013. She performs with the Akenside Players, who won the Fenton House Broadwood Ensemble Competition 2012 and were selected as Handel House Museum’s Musicians of the Month for April 2013. She is also continuo cellist of Dei Gratia, an emerging period instrument chamber ensemble specializing in sacred music. See Amélie’s web site, amelieaddisoncello.co.uk, for upcoming performances and recent reviews.
Teleri Dyer has completed her training as a music therapist and currently works with adults with mental health issues and children with emotional and behavioural problems: “I hope to expand upon my experiences with children within a mainstream primary school setting and develop family-based work within the field of dementia care.”
Teleri’s experience includes a six-week skill-sharing project in Palestine with the organization Music as Therapy International, which focused on delivering a sustainable and efficient music programme, enabling local staff to learn the key principles of music therapy.
“None of this would have been possible without the support of the Reid Trust, and I am extremely grateful for their generosity.”
Flora Boyd gained an MSc in 2011 in Genetic Counselling. “Competition was high and jobs were fairly scarce during the summer and autumn of 2011. Despite this I was overjoyed to be offered a Genetic Counselling job with the Bristol Regional Genetics Service.”
Flora works under a Consultant Geneticist with people who need, for example, carrier testing for conditions such as Cystic Fibrosis and predictive testing for Myotonic Dystrophy and Huntington’s disease. “In April 2012, additional funding from Macmillan Cancer Support meant my job became full time and also broadened to include seeing people at risk of having high-risk cancer susceptibility genes.”
Heather Hawkins has been able to fulfil ambitions thwarted at an earlier stage. She writes: “I first became ill during my final years at school. Although I completed my courses from home, I was unable to take the final exam. Later, my hospital consultants supported me in my application to the Open University and for their Disabled Students Assistance.
“I have since been awarded a Diploma in Classical Studies, a BA and MA in Literature. I am currently studying for a PhD in English Literature with Nottingham Trent University. I am researching into Thomas Hardy’s use of dialect in his poetry. I enjoy my studies immensely and have had several papers accepted for academic conferences. I am also Director or the Thomas Hardy Association’s Course Syllabi Webpage, based at the University of St Andrews. I hope eventually to use my qualifications to tutor from home.
“My continuing studies have been made possible by the grants that I have received from the Reid Trust. Without this support, I would be unable to afford to study. The support that the Reid Trust has given me is enabling me to achieve some of the ambitions that I had before I became ill.”
A recent award-holder, Katherine Flynn, emailed us from Sarajevo. Since completing her Masters in Global Politics with Merit at the LSE, she has been working at PwC on the graduate scheme for consulting: “I’ve managed to get involved with the International Development team at PwC and am working for them and a Programme Coordinator on the Good Governance Fund – a UK government technical assistance fund which is supporting good governance reforms and economic development in Bosnia, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine. My role is programme management, based in London but with frequent travel to the region. I’m thoroughly enjoying my work and learning a lot about how large international development programmes are managed and implemented in-country. I hope to continue with international development work in future and am very thankful to the Reid Trust for helping me to achieve this goal.”
