STUDENT OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2008
Samah Farah
City University
WINNER OF
Xcel IT, Computing and the Web Student of the Year award
Xcel IT, Computing and the Web Student of the Year award
Sedley Brown (right) from Steel Drum Studios presenting Samah Farah (left) with her award
Samah Farah won this year’s Xcel IT, Computing and the Web Student of the Year award. Samah studied a BSc in Business Computing Systems at City University, London.
Some years after moving from Algeria to the UK, Samah studied an access course at Lambeth College where she won the ‘Lambeth College Excellent Result Award’ for achieving the maximum credit available on her course. Samah continued to apply herself in her undergraduate course, performing exceptionally well in all of her assessments.
No stranger to hard work, Samah elected to complete her degree by the university’s ‘Professional Pathway Programme’, a scheme that requires students to work 4 days a week on an IT placement with the remaining day spent at university studying. Not only did Samah cope with the demands of a course with the second highest workload in the UK, but she excelled in it.
I’m so happy to win this and I just want to say that I couldn’t have done this without the will to succeed, God’s blessing and my Mums’ prayers, so thanks God, and I love you Mum.
This achievement is outstanding when you consider the physical and emotional obstacles Samah has had to overcome in her life so far. After being involved in a serious hit and run accident that left her paralysed for a number of months, Samah had to learn to walk all over again. Through incredible fortitude, Samah has pulled herself through and has gone on to achieve a First Class degree and secure a permanent position with Lloyds TSB as an MI Analyst.
Winning the award came as a complete surprise to Samah: “I was told I was nominated but I didn’t really realise that I could be a winner. I didn’t pay much attention after I was nominated so it really came as a surprise. I’m so happy to win this and I just want to say that I couldn’t have done this without the will to succeed, God’s blessing and my Mums’ prayers, so thanks God, and I love you Mum.”
Congratulations Samah and good luck in the future!
Interview by: Emily Crane
