"I'm a learner for the rest of my life..." Class of 2022 Gerry Mason Engineering Scholars graduate
The Class of 2022 Gerry Mason Scholars were among the students who received their degree certificates at the 2022 University of Salford graduation ceremony.
Among the scholarship schemes run by the University of Salford, the Gerry Mason Engineering Excellence Scholarships offer students from across the country the supporting and funding they need to complete their degree. Set up in 2015 by Gerry Mason, the late Morson founder, the scholarships are continued in his legacy by his son, CEO Ged Mason, and the larger Mason family.
Morson has also supported the University of Salford through the Morson Maker Space, a facility which enables students to learn how to use industry standard manufacturing and inspection machinery and to develop the skills and experience needed by industry and employers.
Dr Maria Stuckov, founder of the Morson Maker Space, was present at the graduation:
“The vibe of today and the general energy is just representative of how wonderful our graduates are at Salford University. The years they have spent working comes back to this event where they can really celebrate their successes. We’re really thrilled that Morson Group are on board with us championing and supporting young people to be the best, and really foster that talent as they no progress into the industry. It’s absolutely wonderful.”
Full circle for graduates
In November 2021, Salford University students enrolled in the Gerry Mason Scholarship programmes visited Morson offices in the region to meet CEO Ged Mason and the family donors and explore the future career opportunities open to them. Once of the scholars, Ronak Rasouli, sat down with Ged to talk about her studies. At the 2022 graduation, Ronak was award a first-class degree in Computer Science and Data Analytics, and Ged caught up with her during the ceremony to see how things had gone in her final few months:
Ged: We’re proud to have supported you, I know you’d have made my father proud, and I’ve just met your mother and she’s like a peacock today! You have done all the heavy lifting and hard work and we really do wish you well. What do you have in the pipeline for your future?
Ronak: I’m so honoured to be graduating today. It was a challenging time with the Covid pandemic and economic crises’, but finally I achieved very good grades and I’m very proud of that. I’m so excited about my future, I believe I’m a learner for the rest of my life, that’s the main part of my career. I’ve had a couple of job offers and I’m going to be working as a Data Scientist and I’m really excited to get started!
Hannah Worden started working at Morson Projects in 2015 as a Project Support Administrator within the Commercial team. Towards the end of her Business Administration Apprenticeship, in September 2017 she embarked on a Quantity Surveying degree at the University of Salford. While not a Gerry Mason scholar herself, during the 2022 graduation ceremony, she was awarded a first-class degree:
“It’s been a long time coming but I’m really proud of myself. I’m definitely going to take some of my learning into the business at Morson Projects. I’m moving into a more managerial role within the department, so I’ll definitely be taking with me some of the things I’ve learned in the course.”
Ged Mason OBE said:
“It fills our whole Morson family with so much pride to see another cohort of Gerry Mason Scholars graduate, part of the future of our engineering industry. I know my father would be as proud as we are. It was his drive and ambition to engage with local young people and provide highly-skilled career pathways regardless of socio-economic background, gender, race and more – a core value that still rings true within Morson today. It’s always a pleasure to meet with the graduates and talk to them about their studies and find out more about themselves as people.
With the Covid pandemic and economic challenges it’s been a difficult few years for everyone, not least those undertaking degrees, and seeing how the graduates have risen to that challenge, achieved their grades and done themselves and their families proud is really inspiring. A special thank you also to my colleagues at Morson Projects and the wider Group for mentoring the students throughout their course and for showing them the potential careers they can undertake.”
Andy Hassall, Business Development Director at Morson Projects, said:
“It was great to catch up with the Gerry Mason scholars and the Salford Racing Team last week, a real privilege. There was a real buzz amongst the scholars. I loved hearing their feedback on the technical and mentoring support we have provided over the past couple of years. It was also brilliant to see Hannah Worden receive her Bachelor of Science - First Class Honours degree in Quantity Surveying. It has been great to watch her grow and develop over the last couple of years. An amazing achievement given her full-time work commitments! I wish all the GM Scholars well in their next stage of their development and careers.”
Upon graduation from the Gerry Mason scholarship in 2018, Petroleum Engineering student James Kelly’s career path bought him to work within the Morson Group itself at Morson Projects. Read more here
