Caitlin's letter to you

Hi, my name’s Caitlin, I'm a second year Politics & Sociology student at the University of Sheffield. I grew up in Liverpool and was raised by my single teen mum due to my dad being in prison for most of my childhood. 

During my GCSEs and A-Levels, I was living in a hostel for young people due to bad circumstances at home. I had to work a part-time job as well as attend school. I struggled significantly to balance lessons and work life. Thankfully, I managed to pass most of my GCSEs and joined a sixth form to start my A-Level journey. 

Unfortunately, lockdown hit when I was still in year 12 and without family support, I stopped attending my online classes and almost gave up on higher education completely. 

In 2021, I spoke with a support worker who recommended I join a new sixth form, where I was offered a place to restart Year 12. This sixth form offered me tremendous amounts of support, helped me realign my goals, and bought revision books for me. I managed to exceed everyone’s expectations, earning the highest A-Level grades at the college despite me working and living on my own. 

It seems incredible to me that I was then offered a place at the University of Sheffield. I never imagined I could have passed my GCSEs, never mind being accepted to study at a prestigious university like Sheffield. 

I was so excited to delve further into my true academic passions of diplomatic work and studying the broader global context of politics. My special interest is the Middle East.

The one thing I was very worried about was whether I would financially cope with going to university. I felt exhausted, constantly having to balance my plans for the future with getting by financially. I wasn’t sure how I would manage continuing this pattern of overworking myself.

The fact I was awarded a scholarship was as enormous relief as I finally had the freedom to live like a ‘normal’ student. The first thing I did was put my scholarship money towards a new laptop with MicrosoftWord installed. As you can imagine, almost everything is online these days so the upgrade was certainly needed but not something I would’ve been able to afford myself. 

The scholarship has allowed me to have more free time and disposable income to spend on things like seeing my friends and joining societies. This year I have joined the powerlifting society and hope to compete in Varsity coming up this March! 

To anyone who is considering funding a scholarship, I want to firstly thank you for wanting to help underprivileged students from backgrounds like mine. We are so rarely represented within higher education. We have just as much to offer. Our own adverse personal experiences are so valuable, especially in disciplines such as politics and sociology. 

Our voices need to be heard. By donating you are actively giving us our voices back and allowing us to permanently escape the challenging circumstances we come from. Many working class students are already deterred from university due to the high levels of debt we are forced into, nevermind with the rising costs in living. Many working class students may see university as a burden more than a tool for success. 

This is why donating now is more important than ever, it can encourage bright students to live up to their academic potential. By donating, you’re helping to change a student’s life that really needs your support. You’re unlocking experiences we could only dream of before, and making our university experience come to life. This is one of the best investments you can make!

Wishing you well,

Caitlin Hardy 

Second Year Politics & Sociology