Hope Heroes
Our Students
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Student gives up summer holidays to volunteer to help the elderly
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‘We were aware that most days, due to the guidelines, we were the only people our clients were seeing so we made sure to provide the best care as well as giving them the sense of company and social interaction. During social hours we would set up facetime calls with family members to keep our clients connected to their families during these difficult times. I really enjoyed the job and felt appreciated and supported by both the clients and the team.’‘We were aware that most days, due to the guidelines, we were the only people our clients were seeing so we made sure to provide the best care as well as giving them the sense of company and social interaction. During social hours we would set up facetime calls with family members to keep our clients connected to their families during these difficult times. I really enjoyed the job and felt appreciated and supported by both the clients and the team.’
Biomedical Science student, Katrina Paley, gave up her summer holidays to volunteer at a local care home when they were met with a staffing crisis due to Covid-19. Originally from Linlithgow, Katrina and two other friends joined Bield Housing and Care to help out when a number of staff had to shield or self-isolate.
Katrina underwent a rigorous training programme to ensure she met care standards and abided by strict Covid-19 guidelines. During her time there, Katrina provided personal care, social support and domestic assistance to the older people living in the home.
Katrina said: “I am a person who doesn’t like doing nothing, so lockdown was not ideal. I wanted to get out and do something to help out and I’m glad my work has help to make a difference to older people in my town.
“One of the other students told me about the position and I immediately was keen to get involved.
"We were aware that most days, due to the guidelines, we were the only people our clients were seeing so we made sure to provide the best care as well as giving them the sense of company and social interaction. During social hours we would set up FaceTime calls with family members to keep our clients connected to their families during these difficult times. I really enjoyed the job and felt appreciated and supported by both the clients and the team."
Medical students graduate early to support fight against Covid-19
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Final year medical students at the University of Aberdeen graduated early so that many of them can join the frontline and support the NHS and the Covid-19 effort.
Ordinarily, medical students would have been ‘capped’ on June 19 at the Summer Graduations but the pandemic forced their cancellation.
Instead they were pre-registered as doctors in April by the General Medical Council (GMC) after the UK Government went out to the GMC and Medical Schools to ask if early registration was possible in order to help support the NHS. The Class of 2020 were then asked if any would like to volunteer, and of those in a position to do so, the overwhelming majority came forward.
Music student inspires interaction through virtual choir
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While the current Covid-19 restrictions are limiting the ways in which we can interact face-to-face, many students are finding new and creative ways to collaborate and enhance their University experience.
Among them is music student Anthony White who has helped to launch a virtual choir, is interacting with renowned composers through virtual workshops and has written his own new music dedicated to the work of the NHS.
Anthony, who has just completed the second year of his BMus, said: “Lockdown has certainly imposed restrictions on many people globally, but one thing that unites us all is music."
Student creates community hub for Neurodiverse adults
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A PhD student in the school of Biological Sciences has created an online community hub for adults with neurodivergent conditions.
Marie Fallon was diagnosed with ADHD in May 2020 and found working from home particularly challenging. Realising other students may be facing the same difficulties, she sent out a general invitation on twitter to form a study group and was inundated with replies from across the world.
After a few weeks running online study sessions, Marie connected with similar community spaces and created the collaborative website adhd-hub.com. With the help of a team of volunteers, the site runs daily, free co-working sessions for neurodivergent adults. The group support and accountability not only helps participants to stay on task but the site also helps to reduce isolation and build support networks.
Improving access to Scottish data to support the Covid-19 effort
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The work of an Aberdeen PhD student has made it easier for policymakers, charities, and researchers to access vital data about Scottish households – which will play a key role in decision making when it comes to tackling Covid-19. Viktoria Eriksson, who is in the second year of a PhD in Sociology, has been shortlisted for a prestigious award for her efforts. As part of her placement with the Scottish Household Survey, Viktoria developed a more user-friendly and accessible method of sharing survey data which usually requires expert skills to access. The surveys include a wide range of household characteristics, factors for the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) and mapping of vulnerable groups.
Access to this information has proved particularly valuable during the Covid-19 crisis enabling policy makers, charities, activists and campaigners, without expert research skills, to access this otherwise complex survey data.
The Data Explorer is available for anyone to explore the characteristics, attitudes and behaviour of Scottish households.
Student to run Christmas marathon for his dad
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While many of us will be preparing to celebrate Christmas, Aberdeen student Kieran Fraser will be pounding the pavements around his Inverness home in a bid to complete his first marathon.
The final year accounting and economics student will be running 26 miles on Christmas Eve to show his support for dad Neil, who suffered a stroke in September.
Kieran had originally planned to complete a marathon alongside Neil but following his sudden collapse, he will instead take on a solo challenge to raise funds for Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland.
Kieran said: “It was a devastating shock for all the family. My dad is only 52 and has always been fit and healthy. We’ve always walked and run together and completing a marathon had been a dream for both of us.
“When someone close to you suffers a stroke, you feel so helpless, particularly with Covid restrictions as I’m not able to visit him.
“I wanted to do something to show how much I am thinking about him and to recognise the huge effort he is making in his recovery.
“I’m also hoping to raise as much as I can for this amazing charity that has helped mine and other families through bad times.”
Students bringing help to those in need
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"I wanted to ensure that everyone had some way to reach out for help if needed."
First year PhD student, Ed Devlin, working with Silvia Gratz in Gut Health (Rowett), and Carol Munro and Donna MacCallum in Aberdeen Fungal Group (IMS) moved to Inverbervie about 18 months ago. Ed set up and looks after the Inverbervie Community Response page on Facebook.
He said: ‘Prior to the UK lockdown, I was concerned about outbreaks in other countries and how a similar outbreak might impact my community in Inverbervie. Although most households are well connected I wanted to ensure that everyone had some way to reach out for help if needed.
I set up Inverbervie Community Response on Facebook in March and shared some posters in the shops we have in Inverbervie. I was overwhelmed with the response of people wanting to help and by the time the lockdown was in full effect I had around 40 volunteers willing to help with shopping, errands and prescriptions.
People can make requests to the group directly, contact a specific volunteer from our map, or contact me via phone and I either help them myself or pass out details to volunteers. Combined with similar efforts from our local foodbank and church group, I’m confident that everyone who needed support had access to it. I’ve also been working with the medical centre to help with priority prescriptions or sample collection for individuals who are shielding.’
Volunteer Muhammed clocks up thousands of hours of Covid support
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Muhammad Farooq was one of the 170,000 who, in just one night in March, answered a call issued by the UK government to join a network of volunteers needed to help the 1.5 million individuals asked to shield from the coronavirus because of underlying health conditions.
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As a Lawyer, Magistrate (JP) in London and visiting lecturer in Pakistan, Muhammed, whose work focuses on legal reform in Pakistan, particularly with regard to family law and the rights of women, had a lot to juggle but said he quickly realised the difference a few minutes out of your own day can make to others.
Since his first call to assist a person in isolation in March 2020, he has now amassed 2,869 hours of volunteer work ranging from collecting prescriptions, shopping and food to making phone calls to those unable to leave their homes.