Excellence Awards Recognise Students at SERC Bangor & Newtownards Campuses

Almost 100 students were recognised at SERC's annual Student Excellence Awards for students attending the Bangor and Newtownards Campuses at a special event attended by over 300 guests.

The Awards were presented by the Mayor of Ards and North Down Borough Council, Councillor Richard Smart, Karen Fraser, SERC Board of Governors and guest speaker, Simon McWhirter, a graduate of the Liverpool John Moores’ BA Business Studies which he completed at SERC.   Simon spoke about his career path, highlighting his return to education at the age of 37.    He congratulated the students on their success and wished them well for the future.   He said, “In whatever you do, be focused - envisage every little milestone and have plenty of them, make plans and always ask for advice, because people love to give it - you just need to be good at filtering.  Find good role models, and most importantly do not be driven by pure profit alone as the world’s resources are not infinite. It is important to remember, always work hard, but leave plenty of time to play.”

Ken Webb, Principal and Chief Executive of SERC said, “The Awards are closely aligned to the values of SERC and are presented to students nominated by their Course Tutors from across a range of courses, training programmes and apprenticeships from Animal Care to Applied Science, Information Technology to Engineering, Public Services to Children’s Care, Learning .     They recognise students who have overcome educational barriers, demonstrated an impressive commitment to learning or have shown excellence in entrepreneurship or project work.  We also take this opportunity to recognise local businesses who have shown their commitment to supporting the learning experience at SERC, both for our students as well as upskilling and developing their staff through courses, some of which are bespoke for the sector.

He added, “I would like to congratulate the students and businesses who have received Excellence Awards.   The talents of our students never cease to amaze me, and it is important that we recognise all that they have achieved and encourage them in all that is possible for themselves in the future.”   

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