North East Scotland College graduates looking towards future
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Graduates from communities in Aberdeenshire had plenty to celebrate at North East Scotland College's Fraserburgh Campus graduation ceremony.
Anna Keller, from Peterhead, is embarking on a career in accountancy as she follows a passion for the subject that can be traced back to her school days.
She spent a lot of time within the Business Department at Peterhead Academy and believes the teachers there were instrumental in setting her on her career path and building confidence.
Her goal was to progress to university and she is currently working towards an accountancy degree at RGU after successfully completing her HND in Accounting at NESCol.
Anna, who was the recipient of the Rotary Club of Fraserburgh’s Endeavour Award presented at Saturday’s graduation ceremony at Fraserburgh Campus, said: “I am wheelchair-dependent so I wanted a career that would be flexible and open the door to lots more possibilities. Accountancy offers this – the opportunity to work anywhere in lots of different fields.
“I want my career to enrich my life. Having cerebral palsy means that that I face a lot of challenges – sometimes just getting from A to B can be difficult – so my career choice has to work with my disability."
Anna studied for her Highers during Covid. Her grades were based on her preliminary examination results and were not as good as she hoped they would be.
She said: “It was a hard time for me. My grades were below what I thought I could achieve and lockdown knocked my confidence. I’m a triplet so I’m never short of friends, but I was anxious about entering the wider world again after the pandemic.
“College seemed to be a no brainer to me. It was close by – just one bus ride away in Fraserburgh – and allowed me to build my confidence back up again.
"I saw it very much as a stepping stone, the first part of my journey towards an accountancy degree at university.
"Now I have achieved my HND Accounting I begin my degree at RGU, going straight into the third year.”
Anna is also currently learning to drive and added: “I am so excited and hope this will help me get a part-time job as well. I’m proud of how far I’ve come – I hope that I can take what I have learnt here and grow even more.”
Meanwhile, there was a unique hat-trick to celebrate for Liam Davidson at the NESCol graduation ceremony in Fraserburgh on Saturday.
The 18-year-old from Boddam collected not one but two HNCs, in electrical and mechanical engineering, and was also named Winner of the HNC Mechanical Engineering Award sponsored by Score Group.
The lecturing team at Fraserburgh campus nominated him for exceptional work and commitment.
Liam applied to NESCol after his fourth year at Peterhead Academy, keen to get started in an engineering related career, and was successful in securing a place on the college’s Shell Engineering Scheme.
The fast-track advanced course is exclusive to Fraserburgh Campus and is a sponsored programme in association with Shell designed to meet the demands of industry.
It delivers a broad knowledge and skill set for electrical, mechanical and instrumentation engineering.
Students achieve four full-time qualifications over two years, together with a leadership qualification and industry placements.
Liam said: “It was fast paced and a lot of work but enjoyable at the same time. When I first started the course we were in the midst of the Covid pandemic and restrictions, with online learning in place.
"This came with its challenges, particularly in a social sense when integrating into college life, so I was happy when we got onto campus to meet my fellow students in person.
“My classmates were a great bunch and many of us are still friends. The lecturers were excellent and it was just an all-round positive experience.
"I particularly enjoyed the placement I did at the St Fergus Gas Terminal, it was good to see the theory I’d learned in practice and within a real working environment."
Since finishing the course Liam has secured full-time employment with Maritime Developments Limited in Peterhead as an apprentice electrical technician.
Owen Mackintosh not only celebrated achieving his HNC Engineering Practice at NESCol’s Fraserburgh graduation ceremony but also winning the HNC Engineering Practice Award sponsored by the Score Group.
The award recognises the achievement of an individual who has shown determination and gone above and beyond in the course of their studies and Owen’s lecturers felt he did just that.
The Inverurie engineer completed his HNC as part of a Modern Apprenticeship through employer Rentair Offshore and achieved an A in his final exam.
During his two years at college, Owen became a father and worked hard to catch up when he took time out when daughter Avery was born.
This was Owen’s second time at NESCol, having first studied at Fraserburgh Campus when he left school and achieving his SVQ Performing Engineering Operations.
He then worked on a farm for a number of years before moving into the oil and gas sector as an apprentice service technician, deciding he wanted a job with more family friendly hours when he found out he was to become a father.
Owen said: “I’m glad I made the decision to come back to NESCol and achieve my HNC. I was never a big fan of school but I think the great thing about college is that you’re actually studying something you’re interested and want to do well in.
"The lecturers are great and if you’re keen to learn then they absolutely go out of their way to help you achieve."
Owen celebrated the occasion with his parents, sister, partner and baby Avery, who is now 10-months-old.
