Student Awards Ceremony Celebrates Success

Nineteen students received honours at the West London College Student Awards last night, Wednesday 16 March 2022, following postponed and cancelled ceremonies throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. There were twenty trophies to give in thirteen categories including students from all of our colleges. Guest speaker, Yonathan Andreas, a former student who is now a successful entrepreneur, presented the awards to the ecstatic winners who completed their studies last year 2021-22. The glittering ceremony was held at The Sainsbury Theatre, part of the prestigious LAMDA. 

The evening opened with Chair of Governors, Ian Comfort, reflecting on the college’s highlights, one for each month of the year. He set the bar high, yet what was to follow raised it further. The entranced audience listened to the impressive citations of our most exceptional students for what was to become a joyful celebration of success and achievement.

Two very significant awards were made during the ceremony. 

The first was the Jamal Edwards MBE Contribution to the Community award. A former student, Jamal Edwards MBE maintained his links with the college and believed strongly in the power of education to transform lives. Jamal recently passed away and the college has renamed this award to honour his memory and impact. The award recipient, Maciej Frasunkiewicz said: “I didn’t think I would win and when my name was called out I was so excited. I’m very happy.”

The overall award for outstanding performance, the Principal’s Award, went to Angela Vallely in recognition of the outstanding dedication and commitment she has shown to achieving her overall goals. Angela won awards twice as her exceptional attitude towards her studies, excellent attendance, motivation and achievement led to her also winning the Award for Excellence 16-18 for Hammersmith & Fulham College earlier in the evening. 

When asked how it felt to win not one but two awards, Angela jokingly said: “Heavy!” She went on to say that her family is going to buy a special cabinet for the living room just to hold all of her trophies from the Police Cadets, and now to include the awards she had just won and was immensely proud of.

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust scooped Work Placement Employer of the Year. Dinah Ofusu-Asante, Lead Nurse for Healthcare Support Workers, and Sharon Probets, Head of Learning collected the award. Dinah said: The relationship between the college and the Trust is good for both of us. We are able to give professional work experience to students and the students may go on to become our employees of the future.”

Other employers who came to enjoy the celebration included Poorvi Patel Head of Education, Employment and Skills at Heathrow and Barry Bassett Managing Director of VMI.TV Ltd.

Poorvi explained why it is important for employers to come to events like these: “It  helps to build a pipeline and engage more effectively to showcase careers at Heathrow to students.”

Barry said: “I’m really struck by the incredible diversity at the college.”