My Bittersweet Edinburgh Award Experience
Most students dream of being recognised by their schools for an extracurricular activity such as volunteering, part-time work and so forth. The Edinburgh Award is one of a few programmes at the Edinburgh University that aims to recognise students involvement in activities and enhance these experiences. So — as a class rep — I didn’t think twice about taking part in the programme.
The Edinburgh Award
Anyone who successfully completes the task required to be honoured with the Edinburgh Award will receive both a certificate of recognition from the University and an entry on their Higher Education Achievement Report (HEARs).
Even though a certificate or recognition matters less than the experience or the impact you make in a particular activity, it’s still a nice thing to be recognised for doing something good.
My Edinburgh Award Story
After I finished with my business at Eastern Mediterranean University, I came to Edinburgh University to study Mechanical Engineering and Management.
They say it’s one of the top 30 Universities in the world, but I can say it’s filled with very brilliant students and I’m glad to be here.
During my first year, I went for the position of a class rep. I knew I’d benefit from the experience because I was a class prefect back in High school and I found the experience rewarding.
I was also glad being a class rep presented me with the opportunity to be recognised for representing students by the University.
I went to every event and “completed” every task required to be recognised by the University for representing students until I crumpled in the last stage.
I was emailed with tasks required to be completed in order to be recognised with the award.
But I made an enormous mistake. I didn’t read carefully, so I missed completing the most important tasks, even though I thought I had completed everything.
I knew something was wrong when I wasn’t invited for the award ceremony, so I emailed the organisers and that was when I learned the truth. This meant I ended up receiving 1 Edinburgh Award for work experience even though I spent hours working towards receiving 2.
Conclusion
I’ve learned that even though I receive over 20 emails a day, I should always pay close attention to the details in those I find very important. I shouldn’t assume I know the contents of an important email without carefully reading it.
