Caitlin is a second-year Sound Engineering and Production student who was awarded the Gittins Family Charitable Trust scholarship in Engineering due to her excellent academic record and strong application, in addition to her proactive nature. The Gittins Family Trust is a charity focused on supporting students in engineering, manufacturing, and health work and has supported the University since 2022 by providing diversity-focused scholarships to provide opportunities for more women in engineering, and men in nursing alongside students coming from low-income backgrounds.
Caitlin expresses that she ‘felt so lucky to be rewarded with the scholarship’ and was encouraged to apply due to support from mentors from our Go Beyond Event which is focused on supporting the growth and development of Women in Engineering. ‘When I was awarded the scholarship, I was so proud of myself! I had to write a piece on why I think I deserve the scholarship and for other people to see potential in me as well is such an amazing feeling.’
The scholarship funding has supported Caitlin to ‘gain valuable experience to be brought back to the classroom.’ Outside of studying Caitlin has been proactively seeking work experience in the world of sound engineering and production, she reached out to a live music venue local to her and got work experience doing sound mixing for performing bands for a few weeks.
The support from the scholarship has enabled Caitlin to gain access to amazing opportunities such as being a technical manager at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Caitlin has said, ‘this scholarship has helped me to fund my train tickets to be able to work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023 and 2024’.
In addition to working at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Caitlin has worked at ‘Sounds from the other City’ (SFTOC) and Langworthy Live, ‘I feel I have not only gained experience, but I have gained a lot more confidence and have done a lot more events I feel I wouldn’t have done previously.’
Donor-Funded Scholarships and Bursaries make a huge difference to our students educational experience, it allows them to gain valuable experience and purchase materials to help with their studies, that may not have been possible before.
If you want to read more stories like Caitlins, click the drop under ‘Students and Scholarships’. If you want to help fund our scholarships, we would love to hear from you, you can email us at supporters@salford.ac.uk or simply donate here.
