Three female students have been recognised at the Coleg Menai Bilingual Awards ceremony for their outstanding achievements using the Welsh language in their studies.
Ela Hodgson from Porthmadog, Teresa Jones from Waunfawr and Ceri Lowri Jones from Llanfairpwll were named as the three finalists presented with awards at a glittering ceremony, sponsored by BT, and hosted by television personality, and former Welsh language teacher, Nia Parry, at Galeri in Caernarfon.
Ela, who is undertaking a National Diploma in Travel and Tourism at Coleg Menai, said, “The Welsh Language is my first language and is the one I use to express myself most easily. Keeping the language alive is what’s important to me and I’m very excited to have been given this award.”
Teresa, who studied for a Foundation Degree in Art and Design, added, “Welsh comes naturally to me – it lets me just say exactly what I feel inside.” Fellow finalist Lowri, who is a part time HNC student in Business Administration and who works for Gwynedd Council, said, “I’ve really appreciated the opportunity to do all my work through the medium of Welsh at Coleg Menai. It’s important people can use the language in a professional capacity especially when making the effort to use the correct technical terms wherever possible.”
Linda Wyn, Coleg Menai’s Deputy Principal, added, “The judging panel were given a difficult task in selecting an overall winner. The work presented was extremely varied and included assignments, artworks, websites and computer games.The work of the three finalists was of the highest standard and highlights how the Welsh language is being used naturally both as part of coursework and the world of work. We hope this competition will become a catalyst for more and more of our students to choose to learn through the medium of Welsh.”
Nia Parry, said, “Its been a great pleasure to be able to celebrate the success of these three talented and enthusiastic young women who are obviously determined to succeed in all that they do and in Welsh too!”
