The Institute of Technology, Tralee held its annual Scholarships & Awards Evening on Thursday 3rd December at 7pm at the North Campus. 41 students received awards at the event held to honour sports, academic and civic engagement. Awards and scholarships presented on the evening included President's Civic Spirit Award (Civic Engagement), Tom Mc Ellistrim Memorial Award (Academic), Kennedy Coaches (Sport - Gaelic), Tralee RFU (Sport - Rugby), Munster Bursary (Sport - GAA), Kerry Bursary (Sport - GAA) and IT Tralee Sports Scholarships (Sports - GB - Mixed).

In her opening address, Gillian O’Sullivan, Academic Administration & Student Affairs Manager at IT, Tralee, complimented the dedication, hard-work, sacrifice, commitment and perseverance of the students and encouraged them to continue to inspire others.

Guest speaker on the evening was IT Tralee graduate and Irish High Performance Rowing Athlete Monika Dukarska. Monika spoke of the importance of recognising and appreciating the work that is done behind the scenes to enable scholarship recipients to succeed. “Being an athlete requires a lot of commitment, hard work, dedication and determination. Being exceptional requires a lot of training”. This evening we should also celebrate our supporters. Your friends, families and people who came out of their way to help you: sponsors, staff of IT Tralee and significant others. She accredited the ITT Scholarship programme as one of success factors in helping her achieve her place on the Irish Senior Rowing Team. “My goals are ambitious and they require a lot of hard work but I want to qualify and compete at the Rio Olympics. This is my journey, my dream”, she added.

For those with sporting talent wishing to attend college, IT, Tralee may prove to be the perfect option. The Institute is currently accepting applications until Friday 4th March 2016 from athletes who are excelling in their chosen sport and wish to attain a third level qualification. The scholarships reward excellence and encourage outstanding performance in a variety of sports and are open to applications for any programmes at IT, Tralee.

Sports Officer at IT Tralee, Jennifer Healy explained that the Institute supports the holistic development of talented athletes, recognising the increasing need to successfully balance both academic and sporting commitments. “In addition to the financial support recipients of an ITT Sports Scholarship also have the opportunity to develop their sporting career through the highest standards in coaching, training, nutrition, strength and conditioning expertise from some of the region’s top coaches and mentors. Recipients receive free access to the ITT Training Facilities and one-to -one academic mentoring is provided to ensure athletes excel equally at their studies”.

The closing date for receipt of scholarship applications for the 2016/2017 Academic Year is Friday March 4^th 2016. Further details available from the Sports Office, IT Tralee @ 066 7145644 or by visiting the ITT website @ www.ittralee.ie/scholarships