Aspiring nurse wins Milton Keynes College Student of the Year award

Lucy Sharples was named the winner at the annual Students of the Year event held at Hotel La Tour in Milton Keynes last night (June 9) and presented with her award by Tom Wraight, regional director, Midlands at Careys Construction.

Lucy’s tutor, Jan Jenkins, nominated Lucy for the award, describing her as “such an inspirational young woman” and someone who is “incredibly focused and consistently pushes herself to achieve the best she can.”

She said: “Apart from achieving exemplary grades for her studies, Lucy applied for and secured a place on the MK University Hospital Cadet Scheme where she received special individual recognition from the Chief Nurse.

“She was awarded the Chief Nurse Certificate after she was spotted giving particular care to a mental health patient on the hospital’s paediatric ward. She spent the day with the patient who was waiting nervously for an appointment, sitting and talking to her about techniques which might help the patient and her dad.

"The girl’s father was so happy to see his daughter engaging and laughing with Lucy that he emailed the hospital to express his gratitude for the difference she had made to the whole experience.

“With the difficulties in accessing a placement during lockdown Lucy was determined to try to secure some practical experience so she signed up and completed an online study programme, Care Professions Care Certificate through Bedford Hospital, to gain more skills and knowledge.

“Lucy’s achievements are incredibly impressive as she’s had her own personal challenges to overcome. And she has even turned these difficult times into a positive, by teaching herself to knit and producing hats for premature babies in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.”

Lucy said, “I feel a bit shocked, excited and very honoured. My course has been fantastic, I’ve had a great time in class with amazing teachers. I’ve also loved the placements and had the best experiences. The award I got from the hospital really surprised me, I didn’t think I did anything special but it turns out I made a big impact on someone’s life and on their family, it was pretty amazing.”