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Nina Marie Gardner, USA
MA Playwriting
International Excellence Scholarship
“I read my undergraduate degree at Yale University and then spent ten years as an actress, working across New York and Los Angeles. Ten years on, when I first heard about Royal Holloway, I was looking online and then I saw Andrew Motion’s name. I knew immediately when seeing his name that I would be applying and the moment I got the place at Royal Holloway, I took it. The scholarship has made a large difference to me financially and my family were so impressed and proud of me. Especially being considered a mature student, I’ve been out in the world, so it means so much to me.” |
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Mwawi Nyirenda Kayuni, Malawi
PhD Information Security
Schlumberger Scholarship
“I had an American lecturer in Malawi and he told me if you want one of the best courses, Royal Holloway is one of the best, so I applied and Royal Holloway picked me. I think Royal Holloway is one of the best places in terms of academic research and everyone makes you feel welcome. With the scholarship, I’ve been able to go to conferences in both Belgium and Burkina Faso. Thanks to the scholarship, I’ve been able to go to conferences in both Belgium and Burkina Faso, where I talked about research at Royal Holloway, and about issues concerning women in science.” |
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Caitlin Loehr, USA
MSc Practicing Sustainable Development
American Foundation International Excellence Scholarship
“When I was in my undergraduate studies in Washington DC, I studied for a semester in Senegal. I was studying political communication and so tied this with development by looking at issues of media and technology for development. But I wasn’t sure when I finished my undergraduate studies that this was what I wanted to do. That led me to pursue research on radio and development in Senegal as a Fulbright Student Fellow. During that experience I realised that this was the field I wanted to get into. There aren’t that many programmes in the world that offer an ICT specialism in sustainable development, so Royal Holloway was one of the few choices and for me it was a very natural choice, because it expands my opportunities to have wider connections with the world.
I think with the scholarship, the financial assistance is very helpful, however through the scholarship we have also had meet ups with the other recipients, so I’ve gotten to know a few of the other American and international students and have exchanged experiences and learning points with them.” |
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Diego Sosa Ortega, Mexico
MA Playwriting
Santander International Excellence Scholarship
“I studied both narrative and prose and have always been involved in the theatre, so I wanted to pursue a Master’s degree, just focused on Theatre. I wasn’t able to find anywhere like Royal Holloway. It was like magic, I was looking for a suitable Playwriting degree and the only webpage that came up with the wording MA Playwriting on a Google search, was Royal Holloway. As soon as I opened the link and saw the beautiful building, I went crazy, not only did I want to study at Royal Holloway, but it made me come to England and see it for myself. For us international students, the fees can be expensive, so having the deduction took a load off of my back.” |