Hannah is an outstanding final-year PhD student, a brilliant researcher and hugely valuable contributor to the School and wider University. After joining the programme in early 2020, she has persevered in spite of the restrictions over the last two years and remained committed to sharing her research work whilst also delivering lectures and workshops to over 100 A-Level English students in the local community.
Hannah has presented at the prestigious British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS) conference, alongside speaking at the universities of York, London and Wisconsin USA. Her main focus is an innovative project on gender and disability in nineteenth-century children’s literature and adaptation. Through this work, she has made remarkable achievements publishing her peer-reviewed research including an article on female madness in Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Villette’ in the Brontë Studies journal (2021), plus a chapter on disability and maternity in Disney’s ‘Maleficent’ in the edited collection ‘Gender and Female Villains in Twenty-First Century Fairy Tales’ (2022).
Hannah’s commitment, diligence, enthusiasm and professionalism shines through in all aspects of her research, teaching and public engagement work – and is testament to her being a Create Student Awards 2022 finalist.
Hannah says “I am absolutely delighted to be a finalist for this Award, especially given the difficulties and pressures we have all faced as a result of the global pandemic. To be recognised for my research and extra-curricular work means so much to me. Being shortlisted has also made me feel very confident and proud of what I have achieved so far, and I look forward to continuing my work on diversity, equality, and decolonising the curriculum through my PhD studies and my role on the AHRC-funded ‘South African Modernism as a Decolonising Methodology for A-Level English Literature’ project. I am very lucky to work alongside many fantastic students and scholars within the University of Salford; I hope that I will inspire others to believe that, through the creativity, enthusiasm, and encouragement promoted by the School of Arts, Media, and Creative Technology, anything is possible. I would like to thank my wonderful PhD supervisor Dr Jade Munslow Ong for the nomination and for her continued guidance and patience. Thank you for believing in me – I owe every success to you. I would also like to thank my husband Tom, my family, and my lovely friends and colleagues for their support. I am extremely proud to be a finalist, and I am forever grateful for the amazing opportunities I have been given at the University. I look forward to seeing what the future holds as I embark on the final stage of what has been an incredibly rewarding and enjoyable postgraduate journey.”