Scholarship Profile – Frances Brelsford

I decided to stay in Sheffield to study Dentistry for a number of reasons. I was thoroughly impressed by the Dental Hospital throughout my work experience there and upon researching the course itself, I was very attracted to the early patient interaction and human dissection. By staying in Sheffield, I could also keep my part-time job and remain in close contact with my friends and family; however I decided to make the transition into halls of residence in order to immerse myself into student life.

The sum of the maintenance loan, grant and bursary that I have received this year has only just covered my accommodation costs, leaving me with a very small sum to cover all of my annual expenses. I have consequently had to rely heavily on my wages from my part-time job for monetary support, as my parents unfortunately cannot financially contribute.

In my first semester, I regrettably had to make the decision not to continue with Athletics at university as I had planned, due to time and financial elements. In spite of being a keen sprinter, I felt I just could not successfully balance a part-time job, a very demanding course and commit weekly to Athletics.

The scholarship I have received has enabled me to drastically reduce the number of hours I work at Tesco. I now have considerably more time to manage my studies and feel much more relaxed, without having to worry as much about my finances. Hopefully next year I will also be able to pick up Athletics again and become more involved in the SUDSS Dental Society, which will allow me to achieve a happier and more balanced university experience.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Sheffield University so far. I have made many close friends and absolutely love my course. This year, I have particularly enjoyed learning more about human anatomy and physiology and starting to practise basic dental skills on the `phantom heads´ in the hospital laboratory.

Donations given to the University are incredibly important and are only made possible by a lot of fundraising and the highly generous contributions of many graduates. I am extremely grateful to have received an alumni scholarship and would like to thank all the Sheffield graduates and friends that have contributed towards the fund. I hope that one day I will be able to give something back to the Alumni Fund to help other students like myself, so that they can enjoy their time at Sheffield University as much as I do.