My name is Leonardo, and I’m in my final year of a 4-year course studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Earlier this year, I was honoured to receive the Boost Scholarship from the Institute of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Future Talent Awards – an engineering scholarship aiming to provide financial support and encouragement to deliver a solid foundation and turn talents into groundbreaking solutions.
When I first heard the news, I was definitely surprised. Sure, I had applied – but so had many others across the country. In addition to promoting yourself and your achievements, the award questionnaire asked applicants what they had done to encourage others to choose a STEM subject or career. This recognition provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on the path I forged, and to educate and inspire others interested in similar paths.
The PLUS Award
The PLUS award, amongst other learning opportunities, involves 70 hours of work experience aimed at providing opportunities to develop employability skills, behaviours, and attributes. Reading through the list of example activities that count towards this total, and coming from an international sixth-form (UWC Atlantic College) that prided itself on building changemakers and using education for positive change, student leadership & representation roles instantly stuck out to me.
There’s no way of knowing whether I would have still found my passion for student representation independently. But it was the PLUS Award’s encouragement that helped set that path into motion, which has continued to shape much of my university experience and future aspirations.
My student leadership roles
The University of Bristol, alongside a few others, maintains Junior Common Rooms (JCR) within its Halls of Residence – each forming a representative body advocating and hosting events for the students living there. Becoming elected to the JCR President position of Badock Hall was my first step towards the IET Scholarship. Not directly – I wasn’t advancing STEM by planning Valentine’s Day socials or holding the Campus team accountable – but through what the experience introduced me to.
Through the JCR, I was introduced to the University of Bristol Students’ Union. Providing academic advice, hosting 350+ clubs and societies, and directly representing our collective voice, I knew I wanted to contribute to their vision of making a real difference to the lives of all students at Bristol. I joined the Board as a Student Trustee in 2023/24, and became the Board of Trustees’ Student Co-Chair the following year.
This experience was invaluable for gaining confidence and knowledge in dealing with an immense variety of challenging and rewarding issues, such as our Representation Review, Code of Conduct Review, and launching our Activity Hardship Fund. Being able to steer policy and seeing the improvement on students’ academic and pastoral experience first-hand enamoured me with having student voice at the highest levels of governance. This led me to apply for the annual Student Trustee position on the University of Bristol’s Board of Trustees.
Joining the Board of my own university was something I had always dreamed about, and here I was! The opportunity to work collaboratively and contribute the student perspective in discussions alongside incredibly qualified executive and non-executive directors was a truly eye-opening experience into the high-level governance and strategic thinking required of a £1 billion + revenue research institution.
The IET Award
While those were the experiences that earned me the IET Future Talent Award, this is just one of the hundreds of possible paths one could choose to pursue. If there is one takeaway, it’s this: The path itself doesn’t matter – what matters is starting to follow one.
The PLUS award encouraged me to invest my time towards an interest, and it was the experiences I accrued that I then used towards the application. The confidence I gained from them, in addition to the career workshops required by the award which helped my ability to write a strong application, led me to apply. In my case, I believe leveraging my student representation experience to engage those in STEM played a key role in being awarded the scholarship, but this is absolutely not required to receive the award.
Each person applying will have had forged their own equally valid path. So find yours!
I hope to continue my dedication to trusteeship and community impact in the future, providing intergenerational perspectives to charities serving young people. For those interested in doing the same, I’d endorse the Young Trustees Movement – and feel free to reach out!
Where will your experiences take you?
The Bristol PLUS Award gives you the opportunity to reflect on your extracurricular experiences and gain recognition for working on your personal development.
Register before 21 February to complete your PLUS Award this year.