A Sheffield College student is breaking new ground after winning a national LGBTQ+ award.
Niamh Brownhill, 19, won the Role Model of the Year category of the first ever Queer Student Awards announced at an online ceremony on July 1st, 2021.
The Queer Student Awards are a new annual celebration recognising talented LGBTQ+ college and university students, and allies, who are proudly leading in their lives and the communities around them.
The awards recognise that the word ‘queer’, previously associated with being a homophobic slur and form of hate speech, is in the process of being reclaimed by LGBTQ+ students as a way to express their identity positively.
This academic year 2020/21, Niamh was the LGBTQ+ Officer at The Sheffield College Students’ Union.
A journalism student, Niamh has run campaigns, helped launch the College’s first online LGBTQ+ Society and started a podcast and online publication @QueerUpNorth tackling stigma.
Niamh said: “I feel so honoured to have been given this award as I was amongst amazing and inspirational nominees. I have struggled so much coming to terms with my sexuality and finding my community and to turn those struggles into positives through helping others is all I’ve ever wanted to do.”
She added: “I am so grateful to my Students Union team for always encouraging me, recognising my work and nominating me for this award. For anyone still in the closet and scared about being who they want to be, I did it and so can you. Don’t give up and dream big because anything is possible!”
Angela Foulkes, Chief Executive and Principal, The Sheffield College, said: “Congratulations to Niamh for being such a positive role model, raising awareness of LGBTQ+ issues and winning this ground-breaking award.”
She added: “We are committed to ensuring that every student has equal opportunity to succeed and feels proud of who they are as we strive to put the values of fairness, respect, equality, diversity, inclusion and engagement at the heart of everything we do.”
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