Category: Scholarship Award

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Fiftieth bursary awarded

This year’s bursary award winners with Professor Van Gore in front of Lisa’s mural

On Monday 26th September, seven new students were awarded bursaries from the Lisa Wilson Scholarship Fund, bringing the total of beneficiaries to date to over fifty. In a special ceremony at Southampton Solent University, the new students were joined by the Wilson family and some fifty guests to receive their awards; these included Vice Chancellor Professor Van Gore who spoke on behalf of the university, Geeta Uppal who introduced the event, and many students who had previously received awards and had come back to mark the occassion. This year’s recipients are; Louis Alleyne, Ben Parker, Joe Dormer, Jemma Fox, Garry Halsey, Chelsea-Lea Smith, and Matthew Thorpe.

Clive Wilson spoke about the charity and how inspiring the many recipients had been over the years, and how some nine years after her untimely death, Lisa was still able to touch other people’s lives and give them the opportunity to fulfill their educational dreams and ambitions in the way that she herself had. Tricia Wilson presented the awards including the ‘Lisa Wilson Prize’ for outstanding achievement, which was awarded to Sharon Elegbede with a 2:1 in LLB (Hons) with Business Management.

As well as the new students, there are nine continuing students in their second and third years. With this year’s graduation awards in November, this will bring the number of students graduating to date to twenty two.

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2010 Lisa Wilson Scholarship Awards

L-R: Kerry Ann Tosh, Bonita Lundqvist-Paddick, Clive Wilson, Professor
Jane Longmore, Patricia Wilson, Jake Dudas, James Whittingstall-Bean

Four new students were recently awarded with bursaries from the Lisa Wilson Scholarship Fund. The four new students, Jake Dudas, James Whittingstall-Bean, Kerry Ann Tosh, and Bonita Lundqvist-Paddick, were officially presented with their bursaries by Clive and Patricia Wilson after a video tribute to show the recipients of the fund what Lisa was like as a person and how the money is raised by Clive and Tricia, to help them to understand the importance of the scholarship.

The award takes the form a bursary of up to a maximum of £1,000 per year which is renewed annually. It is available to students who have overcome adversity or can demonstrate why they need extra financial help with their studies.

A previous recipient of the scholarship, Ali Lalani received the ‘Lisa Wilson Prize’ for outstanding academic achievement. Ali said: “It has been an enormous honour and privilege to be a Lisa Wilson Scholarship student over the last five years. I would like to thank Clive and Tricia for all their support, encouragement and generosity during my studies. To me, there are only two people in this room who truly define what it means to be outstanding, and they are Clive and Tricia. I would also like to thank my family for being here today to share this moment with me. Thank you for your unconditional love and support throughout my life, I’m everything I am today because of you. My success is your success.”

Ali graduates this year with a 2:1 in Leisure Management.

Ali Lalani (centre) with his mother and sister Abida, Professor Jane Longmore, Clive and Patricia Wilson

Geeta Uppal, Community and Adult Learning Co-ordinator praised each applicant’s commitment and motivation to study at higher education despite the barriers they faced.

Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Jane Longmore gave her heartfelt thanks to the Wilson family for their ever continuing support:

“I doubt that anyone here has not been thoroughly moved during the presentation. It is so apparent that there is so much love in the room and it is with truly heartfelt thanks that the University expresses enormous gratitude to Tricia and Clive Wilson. Their commitment to tribute Lisa with these scholarships is such an inspirational way of continuing Lisa’s memory.”

“Clive’s and Trisha’s fund-raising has provided support for 44 Solent students over the past eight years. No-one could have worked harder to honour Lisa’s memory by supporting these students in facing their own personal challenges.”

 

Clive and Trish Wilson with Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Jane Longmore

Clive and Trish Wilson with Gus McKechnie, a long-term supporter of the Lisa Wilson scholarship Fund

 

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Golf Day brings in over £5000 for Lisa’s charity

Saturday August 21st marked the 8th Annual Lisa Wilson Golf Day at Wellow Golf Club where Lisa worked and played golf. Around 120 members and 40 guests played in separate competitions.

In the evening Geeta Uppal from Southampton Solent University spoke about the charity and the 43 students who had benefited from the bursaries they received. Ali Lalani, one of the students who this year graduates with a BA 2-1 in Leisure Management, gave a moving speech about the difference the bursary had made to him. Ali represents Great Britain in Boccia (a sport similar to Bowls) and dedicated his World Championship medal to Lisa’s memory. He is now focussed on the 2012 paralympics.

Clive Wilson gave a review of the charity year with a dvd of him carrying out the Nevis High Wire Bungy Jump in New Zealand this year on Lisa’s birthday, March 15th, when he raised £2500 for the charity.

After the prize giving, Martin Murphy kicked off the entertainment and was followed on stage by 70’s hit band “The Real Thing’ who did an hour set including their number one hit ‘You to me are everything’. With some 200 members and guests the clubhouse was really rocking to another highly successful golf day in Lisa’s memory.

Clive and Trish with members of The Real Thing

click for more photos of winners and presentations

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Dave Chattaway donates £480 from London Marathon


Dave Chattaway, the first student to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award, recently completed the London Marathon in the time of 3hr 39mins, raising £480 in the process which he donated to the charity. In an email following the run, Dave said “Since receiving the Lisa Wilson award on graduation and learning about the scholarship fund, I have been looking for a sponsorship opportunity and pleased that I can add in small way to the fund.”

After graduating from Southampton Institute, Dave studied to become a chartered accountant, and in 2008 he started up his own accountancy business which is doing very well.

Thank you Dave for your support, and congratulations on your amazing run.

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2009 Lisa Wilson Scholarship Awards


On October 29th October, 5 new recipients were awarded bursaries from The Lisa Wilson Scholarship Fund.

The five recipients were; Michael George Brough, Charlotte Clark, Lilian Namaata, Hayley Sanders, and Charlotte Weddle-Hoyle.  Their awards were presented at a ceremony at Southampton Solent University which was presided over by Professor Jane Longmore.

Bursaries are given to students who can demonstrate how they have overcome adversity and why they need additional funding to help them with their educational dreams and ambitions in the way Lisa did.

At the awards ceremony, a beautiful film was shown of Lisa living her dream in New Zealand, taking on a free-fall parachute jump and the highest bungee jump in the world. Her trip to New Zealand and Australia was her reward to herself for all her hard work at the University, where she graduated with a BA.21 in Business Management

Lisa’s Father; Clive said “I could talk about Lisa for hours, the way that she could walk into a room and light it up, look at her brothers and turn them into fits of laughter without saying a word, she was a great dancer and loved to party, and the film that she sent home from New Zealand gives us the opportunity to see how she was living her dream”.

This year’s intake has brought the total number of students awarded bursaries to date has risen to 40. Each student receives a bursary for up to 3 years, and to date, 14 students have graduated from the University.


Five students graduated this year, one of whom was Tom Dowsett who graduated with a BA.21 in video film production. He spoke at the ceremony of how the additional funding had helped him with his care and transport costs, and enabled him to buy a camera and other important materials to help him get his degree, despite his disabilities.  Tom stands for everything that The Lisa Wilson Scholarship Fund stands for.