This week’s celebrity had the chance to intermingle with royalty recently on completing her Duke of Edinburgh Award!
First year journalism student Aysha Bryant has been working hard towards this achievement for the last few years and finally received her award at a ceremony in central London. She also managed to get some journalism tips from top TV presenter, Alice Beer, who worked for the BBC programme Watchdog in the 90’s.
Here is what she has to say on completing the award – a must-read for anyone considering trying it out, or in fact anyone in the process of doing it!
Aysha Bryant
HC: How hard is it to achieve a Duke of Edinburgh Award?
AB: Well, gold is the hardest of the Duke of Edinburgh to achieve because it requires a lot of time commitment. I was doing my gold for about two years. If you don’t have financial support it may also prove difficult.
HC: What was it like meeting Prince Phillip?
AB: Prince Phillip was amazing; such a lad! TV presenter Alice Beer was also present and she said to him, “I’ve removed my gloves for you, Sir.” Then he replied: “Is that all you’ll be removing?” He was such a laugh and genuinely seemed interested in what we had to do to achieve our awards.
HC: What advice would you give to anyone wanting to complete their DoE award?
AB: I’d say to anyone trying to complete the award to just stick at it. The day at St. James’s palace was worth it. If you’re thinking about trying the award or have started it at home but want to finish it here just go for it! You only have until you’re 24 years old. It gives you skills and confidence that are vital for the workplace and really stands out on your CV. Only about 1 in 50 people who do the award will get gold is what my county advisor told me.
So if you’re thinking about doing the award it is definitely worth doing so! It’s a massive achievement with excellent benefits which add to your personal life but also to life in the workplace! To achieve such a high honour and to have the chance to meet royalty, you definitely don’t want to pass this opportunity up while you can still get your hands on it!