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Cuthbert’s Cuthbert’sChronicle Chronicle
July 2019
Thank You For Your Support
Lauren Devenney
Thanks to the generous support of our alumni community, St Cuthbert’s Society is able to provide bursaries to students entering the College each academic year. There are three bursaries currently available, each to the value of £1500. Betty Smildzina (Anthropology) describes how much it has meant to her to receive a Cuth’s Bursary for 2019-2020. I started the first year of my undergraduate degree in Anthropology this October. I am originally from Latvia, but I’ve lived in England for 7 years now and was entering the University as a mature student, at 26. I came to Durham because of its outstanding teaching in my chosen subject, and because I love the community feel; I love how there are so many interest groups, clubs, and societies for students to join - it’s
impossible to get bored! As I am slightly older than my peers, my financial situation was markedly different as well. I am not supported by parents, and have been working for the past 10 years. Therefore coming to University, as much as I wanted to do it, meant a significant financial sacrifice, as I had to give up the job I had up until October. It was a difficult decision, but I knew it was also the right one in the long term. But
Betty Smildzina it would mean going without a whole lot of things, and limiting my experiences to the bare essentials. In this context,
