A GAME design student from Stratford has overcome adversity to scoop two prestigious awards.
Molly Clarke, who was originally disengaged from the classroom before discovering her passion, has been named Student of the Year 2023 at Evesham New College.
She was also named Creative Arts and Media Student of the Year, and was presented with both awards at a ceremony celebrating the achievements of students of the college, which is part of college group WCG.
A total of 45 awards were presented by subject leaders across 13 departments at the awards evening at WCG’s Pershore College, with students from a wide range of courses recognised for their successes.
Molly was praised for her ambition, determination, the support she gives to her peers as well as the high quality of work she has produced during her games art and design course.
She was also commended for putting herself forward to lead a second-year group project and being pivotal in its success, as well as selecting an ambitious final year project to challenge herself and further develop her skills.
Molly is now set to study games design and development at Coventry University, and has ambitions to pursue a career in the industry.
She said: “I was quite surprised to be presented with the Student of the Year Award as I didn’t think I’d done anything to warrant winning the top award.
“Growing up I enjoyed playing games and I thought it would be interesting to see how they developed which is why I chose to study game design.
“I am grateful to have achieved quite a lot over the years. My proudest achievements have been creating my game at the end of this year as it definitely shows how much my skills have developed, and stepping up to take the lead on our second year group project.
“My tutors have also been really supportive throughout the course, and the knowledge and skills I have gained has given me a really good base to start in university.”
Andrew Brazier, Head of Creative and Digital at WCG, added: “Molly is an exceptional student. She challenges herself every day and has found her place, her passion, where she is going and where she wants to be.
“This vigour is reflected in the quality of the work she has produced, but more than that, it shows in the support she has given others in her group.
“Molly has shown she is leadership material while also handling her own personal challenges.
“It has been a pleasure to see her grow from a disengaged young person to a confident professional, pushing herself in every lesson to do better, aim higher and never give in. We are all extremely proud of her and what she has achieved.”
