The recipient of the Postgraduate Student Prize 2023 is MA Education: Language and Education student, Esther Airemionkhale.
The academic team nominated Esther for the outstanding contribution to the School of Education community across her dual roles as student representative and student partner, her nomination statement reads, "She has been instrumental in establishing a series of recorded alumni talks, which have helped students understand potential career pathways they might take, and has also been part of a working group exploring how our students use technology, contributing to departmental understanding and delivering a workshop for students in the process.
Her work has led her to liaise with multiple members of staff, and the work of the student partners as a whole was recognised in the Education Awards 2023, in no small part due to Esther's contributions.
At an academic level, Esther has attained high grades throughout her degree, culminating in an outstanding grade of 95 for her dissertation. Esther chose to pursue an extremely complex and demanding autoethnographic study, exploring her own attitude towards Nigerian English, against a theoretical backdrop of raciolinguistics and language identity. She engaged fully with relevant literature, and took methodological considerations extremely seriously, devising challenging and thorough coding strategies to analyse her personal experiences via critical incident theory.
She is truly an outstanding student, and fully deserving of the prize."
On hearing that she was this year's recipient of the award, Esther said, "Receiving this award is an incredible honour, and I am deeply grateful for the recognition. I want to emphasise that my achievement is not solely attributed to my efforts alone. The School of Education has played a pivotal role in my success, exceeding my expectations with its exceptional teaching approach and dedicated faculty. I believe that the unwavering support I received from the School has been instrumental in my journey.
Throughout the past year, my experience at the School has been transformative, allowing me to cultivate my research skills and gain valuable insights into my chosen career path. I am particularly indebted to my supervisor, Dr Sabine Little, whose guidance and accommodation of my curiosity have been invaluable. Her expertise and mentorship have truly shaped my growth and contributed to this achievement.
Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to God, the giver of life and wisdom, for directing my steps and providing me with strength and guidance throughout this journey.
I am truly humbled by this award and I look forward to continually contributing to the scholarly community as I pursue my doctorate and career in academia."
We extend our sincere congratulations to Esther on this award and wish her success in her future studies and work.
