Congratulations to Leonie Feighan who has been awarded the 2023 Jean Crawford Cochrane Scholarship
The Jean Crawford Cochrane Scholarship, launched in 2016, supports an undergraduate student over their 3-4 years of study. Jean Crawford Cochrane was an active member of Queen’s Women’s Graduates and a passionate supporter of women’s education.
This award was established to commemorate Jean and to encourage women normally coming from the post-primary education system in Northern Ireland to further their education through an undergraduate course at Queen’s.
When asked about her achievement, Leonie said:
‘Becoming the recipient of the Jean Crawford Cochrane Scholarship is one of my proudest achievements and I am so grateful I have been given this scholarship to help me in my studies in psychology. The Jean Crawford Scholarship represents the opportunity to better yourself despite obstacles and not let your financial background or gender inhibit you from getting an education. The scholarship is awarded to women with a household income of less than £20,000 and are given £1,500 each year for the duration of their undergraduate degree.
I love what the scholarship stands for because I feel so strongly about social inequality, and I refuse to let my background be a factor in why I don’t succeed. Many students are at a disadvantage due to financial constraints and therefore, decide not to pursue education, thankfully there is work being done to help those in need and in the future, I wish to do the same and help struggling students.
I am able to take time off work and focus on my psychology degree which would not have been possible without the scholarship. Psychology is my passion, and I am getting this degree to become a psychologist and have the ability to help children rise above and better themselves. I am so proud to be the recipient of this award and will always appreciate that someone chose to help me and make my life that little bit easier.’
Dr Chris Gibbons, our Student Recruitment lead, commented:
“A huge congratulations to Leonie on being nominated for and on receiving this scholarship and I want to wish her continued success in her studies at Queen's.
Psychology is a diverse discipline and one that offers insights into the nature of relationships, in finding ways to overcome adversity and into studying the mind and behaviour in scientific and systematic ways. The School plays an active role, through several university initiatives, to support able students whose life circumstances might otherwise have made university an unlikely prospect. These initiatives include the Junior and Senior Academies, the Pathway to Opportunity Programme and this Scholarship. With each year, our cohorts of students become ever more diverse in make-up and in their backgrounds. We are proud of this. It makes for a richer experience for all our students”.
Information about scholarships is available here: https://www.qub.ac.uk/Study/Undergraduate/Fees-and-scholarships/Scholarships/