Graduation for first Gerry Mason Engineering Excellence scholars
The first graduates from the Gerry Mason Engineering Excellence Scholarship receive their awards this week in front of the family that has supported their success.
The scholars – Yasir Alrufaee, Hamza Evans, James Kelly and Lewis Smith – have been funded throughout their degree by Gerry Mason, founder of Morson International.
Sadly, Gerry passed away shortly after pledging £270,000 to support the students, but his wife Margaret, son Ged and daughters Natasha, Sara and Carmen have continued his legacy of support and attended the students’ Graduation at The Lowry on Tuesday, July 17.
Gerry’s generosity enables talented young people who would otherwise be deterred from university because of the tuition fees and living costs, to pursue an engineering degree.
Graduate in Aircraft Engineering with Pilot Studies, Hamza Evans, said: “A huge financial burden was lifted thanks to the scholarship. Not having the financial support from my parents would have meant me working really long hours to support myself, and cut into my study time.
“Visiting the Morson offices was the most amazing experience. It was an honour to meet with Gerry’s son Ged (now CEO of the company) and for him to give us so much of his time.”
The Mason family have since funded 10 students in 2016-17 and 15 in 2017-18 bringing the total number of scholarships to 30 and allowing students to study one of 13 engineering programmes at Salford University, including Civil, Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering.
Three female engineers are among the latest recruits in 2017 which is great news not only for them but for Morson which has pledged to double the number of female engineers it employs by 2020. Currently, Morson has more than 1,800 female contractors working across the globe, yet specifically in engineering, the number of women compared to men sits at just 7.5 per cent.
Ged Mason explains: “The family is naturally delighted to see my father’s legacy live on and witness Yasir, James, Lewis and Hamza graduating and looking forward to the next step in their career in engineering.
“Our partnership with Salford University is delivering real change by attracting new talent to technical sectors and developing the next generation of engineers.”
Find your next engineering opportunity. Search the latest engineering jobs with Morson.
