Castlerea student Katie Kenny was one of a select group of first-year students honoured by NUI Galway with a special ceremony, in recognition of the high points they achieved in their Leaving Cert.
Picture Credit: by Aengus McMahon.
Each year the University’s “Excellence Scholarships” are given to new entrants at NUI Galway who reached a minimum of 560 points in their Leaving Certificate examination, except in Medicine. For Medical students, 10 Scholarships were awarded certificates, based on the combined results in the Leaving Certificate and the new Admissions Test (H-PAT Ireland).
The Excellence Scholarships, worth €1,500 each, are designed to recognise and reward Leaving Cert success for the highest-achieving students, and encourage their ongoing commitment to academic excellence during their time at NUI Galway. The awards may be held with any other scholarships or grants, including the University’s Postgraduate Scholarships, Mature Student Scholarships, Sports Scholarship Scheme and schemes specific to individual colleges for those who excel in their University exams.
Katie is pictured above receiving her Excellence Scholarship scroll and a cheque for €1,500 from NUI Galway President, Dr Jim Browne.
Speaking at the Awards presentation Dr Browne said:
“I am delighted to present the scholarships to these outstanding individuals in recognition of their academic talent. NUI Galway constantly strives to support and promote academic excellence across all disciplines. The purpose of these Awards is to encourage each student to develop his/her academic potential to the fullest, by setting a realistic threshold of excellence and rewarding every student who attains that level. It is also a chance to give due credit to their parents and teachers for their important contribution to such success.”
Castlerea native Katie is now studying Commerce with German at NUI Galway and was the only Roscommon student to receive the honour. Overall, this years Excellence Scholarships were awarded to students from 43 individual schools throughout Ireland. The winners represented 13 counties including Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Limerick, Mayo, Offaly, Sligo, Tipperary, Westmeath and Roscommon.