Devon Educational Trust

“The money kindly awarded to me has been vital in helping with my studies for medicine. The course has been just as intense as I anticipated, leaving me little to none time for paid work to help susidise my living costs. The money was used specifically to purchase a neuroanatomy book to assist me in my current Brain and Behaviour block and also to pay for travel costs to my local hospital where the universisty has placements. Some of it was also used for clothing suitable for on the wards, the part of the course I am enjoying the most as it means I get to interact with the people I will one day be treating. It reminds me of my work as a HCA at NDDH and how I wish to return as a doctor one day to give back to the community.”

“Your award allowed me to experience and engage with a completely different and interesting culture. The trip to Japan was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we got to stay with real Japanese families to experience their lives. It has shown me that there is a lot more opportunities and choices outside of the UK. The trip has changed my life and taught me to try new things. the Japanese people were very friendly and they thaught me to be thankful for what I have and to enjoy every day.”

“Thank you so much for helping to give my son a trip of his life so far. Not only without the money from you he wouldn’t have been able to go, it would have meant he would have missed out on such a great bonding session with his peers and the chance to try and take part in so many activities. He is a very nervous boy that doubts his capabilities constantly. He came back with a new sense of pride. Tired but happy and with the ‘push’ from a caring teacher and encouragement from his friends he achieved and had a go at things that were beyond his wildest dreams.”

“I went to New York in February. Before I arrived, I had never been to America. I had an image of what I thought it would be like, but in actual fact, it was much more than I pre-conceived. We were only In New York for 4 days, in these four days we accomplished more than I thought we would have! We would wake around at around 6am-8 (this varied) and would go out for a full day, and return 11ish. We visited many galleries, the Moma, Metropolitan, Guggenheim and the Whitney.
We walked through the beautiful Central Park whilst battling one of the coldest days in New York in many years, but the blue sky was enough to overcome any negativity to the climate. We ate in iconic Times Square restaurants, Planet Hollywood, The Hard Rock Cafe and Eddy’s diner. We also spent a few hours in a school in New York who are also a Quaker school, we had time to get to know the students and communicate with them, we found out what Quaker values they shared, and the similarities between the two Quaker schools. It was one thing being a tourist in New York, but when we were given the opportunity to actually get to know the people, and ask questions and also answers, it was a crazy experience. We used the subway once or twice, this was another experience, as we see the difference between London’s “Tube” and the “Metro” of Paris. We travelled to the top of the Empires State Building, not only is the view mind blowing, but once we were up there, the sun started to set, and before we knew it, we were standing looking over New York, and the sky was different shades of crimson red, it was a magnificent experience. One of the amazing experiences in New York was when we driving into Manhattan from the airport. The closer we got into the centre, the taller the buildings got, and the more people there were. I happened to film most of our trip in New York and made a small film of collaborated clips with music, i find the film is a much better media to describe my trip.”

“The support of Devon Educational Trust has provided me has been incredible and without it, I would not be where I am today.
They initially part supported my travel fare to Fiji, allowing me to experience the dance and culture for three months with Vou Dance Company. What I experienced in Fiji then lead into creating a professional dance performance in Plymouth and London, combined with workshops all over Devon and the UK. the work influenced over 2000 young peopled by empowering them to do what make them feel alive and empowered, as well as giving them the opportunity to experience Fijian dance and culture.”