Top-performing students from Lincoln, Newark and Gainsborough took centre stage at Lincoln College’s Annual Awards Ceremony.

A total of 57 awards were presented to students across all three campuses in recognition of their hard work and commitment to their studies.

Winner of the Trisoft Award for Outstanding Apprentice Megan Bilboa, who was also named Student of the Year in the Apprentice category, was nominated by her tutor Veronica Capaldi.

“Megan deserves this award for many reasons,” explained Veronica. “Since starting her Level 2 Apprenticeship in Business Administration in 2012 at Lincoln Security as Office Junior, she has shown dedication and a commitment to succeed.

“After achieving outstanding results, including five distinctions, Megan has been promoted to Administration Assistant and then more recently to Installations Manager. She has swiftly become and integral part of the team thanks to her hard work and dedication.”

Megan (21) said she was overjoyed to have won: “I had no idea I was up for the Student of the Year and I nearly had a heart attack when they called out my name! It was a lovely occasion as my mum and employer Julie were there to see me receive my awards.

“Everyone at work is really proud of me and keeps saying that they’re not surprised I won which is nice. I’m lucky as I really enjoy my job which not many people can say, and I’d like to thank everyone at Lincoln Security for their belief and confidence in me.

“My tutor at Lincoln College Veronica has also been really helpful. We had regular monthly meetings but if I needed help any other time she was always there.”

Margaret Serna, Chair of the Board of Corporation of Lincoln College said: “Megan is a shining example of the many excellent students who attend our campuses in Lincoln, Newark and Gainsborough

“The standard of entries for the Student of the Year Award this year was very high and the judges had a very difficult job; however, they all agreed Megan was a worthy winner. I would like to congratulate her and wish her continued success in the future.”

The awards, which were presented to the students by Air Commodore Chris Luck, Commandant at RAF College Cranwell, were sponsored by businesses from across the East Midlands.

During the ceremony in Deans Sport & Leisure on Lincoln College’s Monks Road campus, former Student of the Year winner Sandie Webster took to the stage to talk about her success. Sandie, who is a mum and runs her own business, studied Painting and Decorating and won Gold at the national final of SkillBuild 2013, the UK’s largest multi-trade competition.

Guests were also treated to performances by star of the John Lewis Christmas advert and student of The Gainsborough Academy Isobel Foster, who sang live on stage, and Lincoln College’s Performing Arts students.

CEO Gary Headland said it was a fantastic occasion: “I would like to congratulate all of our award winners many of whom have overcome huge challenges to get to where they are today. We heard some really inspiring stories which made me feel immensely proud of the college, the students and of course the staff.

“Our key purpose is to train and educate the workforce of the future and we work closely with local businesses to find out what skills are needed to meet the demands of our economy. Their engagement with the college is fundamental to our success and I would like to thank all of the businesses who sponsored the awards as without them we wouldn’t have been able to stage such a memorable evening. I am delighted they see the value in engaging with us and spotting a future potential staff member early.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

About Lincoln College

• Lincoln College is the largest educational institution in the county with 10,000 students across three campuses in Lincoln, Gainsborough and Newark.
• It is the largest provider of business training and skills in Lincolnshire providing training for around 1,200 businesses in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
• The college is rated Outstanding by Ofsted and has a wide range of full, part-time and short courses for students aged 16 and above, including university-level courses.

About The Lincoln College Group:

• Founded upon a concept of ‘synergy’, The Lincoln College Group comprises a number of like-minded organisations with a shared purpose of providing exceptional education, training and related services to their students.
• Currently providing secondary, further and higher education, the Group includes Lincoln College (with its campuses in Lincoln, Newark and Gainsborough and operations in China) and two secondary school academies: The Newark Academy and The Gainsborough Academy. It also encompasses Deans Sport and Leisure, a commercial sports centre based in Lincoln City Centre.
• Lincoln College International, a project to develop and run three Colleges in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the latest addition to the Group.
• The Lincoln College Group is also the lead sponsor of the Lincoln UTC which opened in September 2014.

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