Former South West College student awarded the prestigious JP McManus Scholarship
Former South West College student, Emmett Conlon who completed the BTEC National Diploma in Sport at the Enniskillen Campus in 2011 was announced as a recipient of this year’s prestigious JP McManus Scholarship, collecting a cool cheque for £22,000 at a recent event held at the Belfast Metropolitan College to mark the success of all the Northern Ireland recipients.
The JP McManus Scholarship scheme was borne out of the Irish businessman and race horse owner’s belief that the Celtic tiger would not be around forever and education would be key for success in more difficult and challenging times ahead.
The All Ireland Scholarships were subsequently established with a donation of €30m from JP McManus for application in the provision of third level education scholarships, spread out on a county by county basis throughout the island of Ireland to help facilitate a number of young people to avail of higher education opportunities.
A total of 25 scholarships are awarded to students in Northern Ireland – 19 are available to top performing A Level students in the schools sector and six go to the top BTEC National students in the Further Education Colleges.
In September of this year, Emmett embarked on his higher education journey at the University of Ulster in Jordanstown where he is studying the BSc (Hons) in Sports Studies, a four year course, which includes a placement year. Speaking about the generous scholarship, Emmett said:
“Receiving the JP McManus Scholarship is a massive boost for me as I start my sports degree. I am very fortunate to be able to get on with university life without the financial burden that the majority of students now face. It’s a great help, especially with the accommodation and general living expenses that I am faced with now that I am living away from home.”
Emmett will attend the upcoming All Ireland Scholarship awards ceremony at the University of Limerick on Saturday 19th November, which will mark the achievements of recipients from across Ireland.
