Katy (Cassidy Scholar)

The Cassidy Scholarship has had a truly life-changing impact on me. I come from a small village in Lancashire, where very few people go to university, let alone to Durham. I am proud to be a first-generation university student and only the second in my family to attend university. Although my parents always encouraged me, supporting me financially through Durham would have been impossible without this scholarship. I am deeply grateful for the chance to study what I love at such a high level.
Durham has always been my dream, but it once felt out of reach due to financial constraints and self-doubt. The freedom to fully engage in college and university life without financial worry has been invaluable. The Cassidy scholarship made that dream a reality, and my experiences here have been some of the most challenging yet rewarding of my life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.