Published on 27 April 2020
Ryan Calvert, 41, from Sunderland, is in the final year of BEng Electronic & Electrical Engineering. As with all final year students Ryan is working hard, and since the Covid-19 crisis struck has less time than most, as he has young children and a key worker post, as well as his studies.
But Ryan believes that gaining a DOSH (Development Office Scholarship) award has put him firmly on the right track. Ryan was one of the first students to receive the Dovre engineering scholarship.
“The Dovre scholarship helped me immensely in terms of being able to focus more time on studies and less time on earning money to run my household,” says Ryan. “Not only that, but I’m able to look for graduate jobs with an award on my CV that recognises the hard work I’ve put in.
“I’m hoping to join Northern Powergrid’s delayed graduate scheme when it opens in the summer. If my final classification has not been awarded at that point, I can at least provide evidence to say that I have been recognised for outstanding performance. That can only help my application.”
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Ryan, who lives with his fiance and two children aged 13 and 2 years, admits he is struggling with the extra demands of lockdown.
“I’m not feeling the study benefits of quarantine because I don’t have any available childcare during the day, and I’m a government key worker on an evening.
“To say I’m keeping busy would be a gross understatement! I’m having a lot of very late nights making sure I finish my degree as strongly as possible.
“But I’d say to other students; American’s have a saying, ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’. I think it’s just as important not to sweat the huge stuff that lies outside of your temporarily shrunken sphere of influence.
“I’m not going to be able to build my final year project without access to lab equipment, but I’m working with academic staff to complete a narrative of what I would’ve done, while consolidating the simulation elements to meet the learning objectives.
“I’m trying to see the positives in having something worthwhile to concentrate my energies on through this period. You should focus on what can be done rather than what can’t.”