{"id":3814,"date":"2019-09-03T16:04:49","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T16:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=3814"},"modified":"2019-09-05T13:32:09","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T13:32:09","slug":"scholarship-helps-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2019\/09\/03\/scholarship-helps-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Scholarship Helps Student"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

\u201cIt\u2019s purely down to the University \u2013 and donors like you \u2013 that I\u2019ve been able to complete my degree.\u201d  <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Powerful words from any graduate, but this testament to the impact of our donors generosity is all the more compelling because it comes from Olympic hopeful, Mathilda.<\/p>\n

With a string of world championship and cup accolades and an intense training schedule, Mathilda is no stranger to hard work and determination. But the GB Senior Women\u2019s squad member faced a \u201cmassive challenge\u201d in pursuing a degree in chemistry alongside her rowing.<\/p>\n

\"\"As well as juggling lab work and assignments, the intense training schedule needed to represent your country at the highest levels saw Mathilda on the water at least three times a day. Even taking her end-of-year exams could be problematic, as the summer term coincides with the competition season and Mathilda was often out of the country representing Great Britain.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, there was no time for the part-time work that many students undertake to support themselves.<\/p>\n

As government loans fail to keep pace with rising costs of living \u2013 and with the expenses associated with training and competitions \u2013 many athletes struggle to overcome these financial difficulties to pursue a degree.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, generous support from our donors funded a sports scholarship and a grant from the Student Support Fund, which \u2013 along with her determination \u2013 helped Mathilda across the undergraduate finish line.<\/p>\n

Speaking before she graduated last month, she said: \u201cThe Department and Student Services have been incredible. They said \u2018it\u2019s fine, we\u2019ve got your back\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there are any other universities that support athletes like Reading has. I\u2019m very aware of how lucky I have been.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While it has been challenging, Mathilda says her studies have also helped her rowing.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great to do my degree as I think it helps me to balance more. It brings perspective. I know I\u2019m working towards another job, which enables me to take the pressure off and perform better. I don\u2019t think \u2018do this, or you have nothing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Her sights are now firmly set on qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but longer term she hopes to complete a PhD and pursue a research career in forensics.<\/p>\n

Find out more about other elite athletes who have attended Reading in our Alumni Sports Hall of Fame<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s purely down to the University \u2013 and donors like you \u2013 that I\u2019ve been able to complete my degree.\u201d   Powerful words from any graduate, but this testament to the impact of our donors generosity is all the more compelling because it comes from Olympic hopeful, Mathilda. With a string of world championship and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":3815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[21,22,27,32],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nScholarship Helps Student - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cIt\u2019s purely down to the University \u2013 and donors like you \u2013 that I\u2019ve been able to complete my degree.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2019\/09\/03\/scholarship-helps-student\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scholarship Helps Student - Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cIt\u2019s purely down to the University \u2013 and donors like you \u2013 that I\u2019ve been able to complete my degree.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2019\/09\/03\/scholarship-helps-student\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-03T16:04:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-09-05T13:32:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/09\/shutterstock_1114147319.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sophia McIvor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sophia McIvor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2019\/09\/03\/scholarship-helps-student\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2019\/09\/03\/scholarship-helps-student\/\",\"name\":\"Scholarship Helps Student - 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