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Public services students collect huge donations for local Thurrock foodbank
A group of level 3 Public Service students at the college’s Thurrock campus took part in a food bank donation to raise money for the local Thurrock community.
Running from Thursday 29 April to Tuesday 13 May, the group of students successfully promoted the food bank initiative throughout the college as well as through local group chats on social media.
Lauren Hooper, alongside her classmates, Harry, Syddie, Jade, Frank, Josh and Alfie were all responsible in helping to make the donation service a huge success. The students managed to collect a whopping 90kg worth of food which was donated to the Thurrock food bank.
Lauren and her classmates worked hard to spread the word about the service and said: “As a group we wanted to make a positive difference in such a hard time for everyone and felt that the food bank was a good cause as it was supporting families who live in our community.”
Peter Newall, Operations Manager for Thurrock Foodbank, said: “Every donation we receive goes to help someone in Thurrock who is struggling at this time. Thurrock not only supplies food, but we try to put people in contact with the relevant agency that will be able to help them with their specific needs. The aim of our work is to engage the community, to help the community.”
“The best place for this message to get out to the public is through schools and colleges and the students working together is a great example of how someone has really got the message and has taken real positive action to help in a very practical way. It is a team effort, This is Thurrock people helping Thurrock people.”
For more information about the Thurrock Foodbank service, visit: Thurrock Foodbank | Helping Local People in Crisis
Success stories
Learning is ageless and I’ve really enjoyed being a student again and pushing myself to reach my potential
Mark Ganyu, from Stanford-le-Hope, studied HNC General Engineering at University Centre South Essex.
He was nominated for being a motivated, punctual, well-mannered, hardworking individual and for consistently maintaining his high standard performance since in his level 3 part-time engineering course four years ago.
His tutor said: “Mark’s work and performance have been exemplary and has exceeded expectations in the last four years whilst tending to family commitments, changing jobs and overcoming a language barrier. He has been an asset to this programme and we wish him all the success.”
Mark would recommend University Centre South Essex as a mature student as it helped him in many scenarios and was very flexible and supportive.
Mark commented on his nomination and said: “It was a complete surprise to be winning an award and makes me feel good. Learning is ageless and I’ve really enjoyed being a student again and pushing myself to reach my potential.”
“It’s a kind gesture from the awarding bodies and tutors to recognise my efforts and would like to thank them all for their dedication during my time at the university centre.”
Mark has aspirations of studying for a higher education degree course but may take his knowledge and skills to his current company, where he can continue accepting new challenges and opportunities.
I would highly recommended the university centre for its variety of different courses, professional and expert tutors, it is extremely well organised and student orientated.”
Aniku has carried off the HNC/HND Student of the Year award because of his excellent attitude towards learning.
He said: “It is an absolute honour to win this award and I'm humbled that my mentors/teachers think of me so highly.”
Aniku said he chose to study at University Centre South Essex because it is one of the only higher education institutions that offer the course he wanted study - electro-mechanical engineering. Being employed as a multi-disciplined engineer, this was the perfect course for him.
His tutor commented: “Aniku is motivated, punctual, well-mannered, committed, hardworking, and an excellent collaborator. He is very thorough in implementing given feedback and is improving his work consistently.
“Aniku’s distance travelled in such a brief time since he joined L4 HNC programme in September 2021 is remarkable. He has flourished from a quiet student to an accomplished confident team member not hesitating to offer his assistance to his peers and tutors. He is an asset to his programme of study.
Aniku added: “It is an extremely well organised course. Considering my course is part-time it can get intense. Having a course that’s organised so well just makes everything, especially the learning part, easier to digest.
“I like that the different aspects of engineering are covered well and taught in a professional and easily digestible manner.
“My greatest achievement so far has been gaining promotion from maintenance technician to regional reliability engineer. I would highly recommended the university centre for its variety of different courses, professional and expert tutors, it is extremely well organised and student orientated.”
Aniku said that he would really like to continue his education and get a degree in Electromechanical Engineering. His future ambition is to take up a Chartered Engineering role or become a senior consultant.
Celebrating Success 2022: Andy Amoako
Course studied
The environment is quite serene and calming. The college gives the opportunity to fully explore your academic visions.
Building Services Student of the Year, Andy Amoako, was nominated for his enthusiasm to learn and progress while pursuing his aspiration of becoming an electrical engineer.
The 20-year-old from Grays studied Electrical Instillation at the college’s Thurrock Campus and is described by his tutors as a ‘model student’.
His tutor added: “It is truly a pleasure to have Andy in my class, he is a credit both to himself and the college.’
Andy said it was amazing to win the award.
He said: “It felt so good to receive an academic recognition, I have never been really recognized for anything like this, so it felt so great to be seen like that!
“I chose to study at the college because among all the available choices, South Essex College stood out more. The environment is quite serene and calming. The college gives the opportunity to fully explore your academic visions.
Andy is now looking to progress onto university to further his skills. As for the future he said: “I want to reach a height so high, I can't see the ground.”
