Achievements of students recognised at ceremony

Members of North East Scotland College’s class of 2023 were celebrated recently as the Fraserburgh Campus played host to the first of this year’s graduation ceremonies.
Graduates Liam Davidson and Anna Keller.Graduates Liam Davidson and Anna Keller.
Graduates Liam Davidson and Anna Keller.

Amongst the garduates were Anna Keller and Liam Davidson.

NESCol graduate Anna is embarking on a career in accountancy as she follows a passion for the subject that can be traced back to her school days.

She spent a lot of time within the Business Department at Peterhead Academy and believes the teachers there were instrumental in setting her on her career path and building confidence.

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Her goal was to progress to university and she is currently working towards an accountancy degree at RGU after successfully completing her HND in Accounting at NESCol.

Anna, who was the recipient of the Rotary Club of Fraserburgh’s Endeavour Award, said: “I am wheelchair-dependent so I wanted a career that would be flexible and open the door to lots more possibilities. Accountancy offers this – the opportunity to work anywhere in lots of different fields.

“I want my career to lead enrich my life. Having cerebral palsy means that that I face a lot of challenges – sometimes just getting from A to B can be difficult – so my career choice has to work with my disability.“

Anna studied for her Highers during Covid. Her grades were based on her preliminary examination results and were not as good as she hoped they would be.

She said: “College seemed to be a no brainer to me. It was close by – just one bus ride away in Fraserburgh - and allowed me to build my confidence back up again. I saw it very much as a stepping stone, the first part of my journey towards an accountancy degree at university. Now I have achieved my HND Accounting I begin my degree at RGU, going straight into the third year.”

There was a unique hat-trick to celebrate for Liam Davidson at the graduation ceremony.

The 18-year-old from Boddam collected not one but two HNCs, in electrical and mechanical engineering, and was also named Winner of the HNC Mechanical Engineering Award sponsored by Score Group. The lecturing team at Fraserburgh campus nominated him for exceptional work and commitment.

Liam applied to NESCol after his fourth year at Peterhead Academy, keen to get started in an engineering related career, and was successful in securing a place on the college’s Shell Engineering Scheme.

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He said: “It was fast paced and a lot of work but enjoyable at the same time. When I first started the course we were in the midst of the Covid pandemic and restrictions, with online learning in place. This came with its challenges, particularly in a social sense when integrating into College life, so I was happy when we got onto campus to meet my fellow students in person.

“My classmates were a great bunch and many of us are still friends. The lecturers were excellent and it was just an all-round positive experience.”

Since finishing the course Liam has secured full-time employment with Maritime Developments Limited in Peterhead as an Apprentice Electrical Technician.