Scholar testimonials

Being a relatively young Scholar has meant that Nuffield has given me a tremendous head start on my business career. Arriving home to the family farming business, fresh from graduation, I thought I knew it all. But after nearly two years of Nuffield travels, research, networking and finally report writing, I now feel that I can stand back and take a much wider view of situations. By meeting and conversing with the right people within the industry, I have learned to think outside the box, and be more open towards outside opinions and suggestions. My Scholarship has been the best experience of my life so far. I look forward to meeting more Scholars, staying in contact with the ones I've met so far and learning more from those I've yet to meet.

It was great news and an honour to hear that I had been granted a Scholarship interview. But sat waiting for my turn to be interviewed, doubts began to surface. Am I good enough? Will I fit in? Why the hell did I bother? I applied for a Scholarship because someone I highly regarded suggested I should. So I did. Happily I was successful. But then the doubts started again. Could I be away for from my business and on my own for ten weeks? Travelling to the USA, New Zealand, Australia and Gambia, I saw a glimpse of global agriculture - and it opened my mind! I have yet to appreciate everything I witnessed and learned. I now know I have joined a world class Nuffield network, providing help and ideas, if ever needed, as well as many dear friends whose company I will enjoy for the rest of my life.

One of my most vivid memories of my Scholarship is being told by the Director, John Stones, “you are about to embark on a life changing experience”. At first I treated this remark with some cynicism. How can just eight weeks of travelling abroad change my life? I then felt a growing sense of trepidation; I’m not sure I want my life to change that much! On reflection, I now realise that John was absolutely right. I found something I thought I had lost - my enthusiasm for farming. I also learned a great deal about myself, the wider world and its influence on UK agriculture. It is impossible not to be moved after spending a week with an imprisoned Kosovan freedom fighter who was helping to rebuild and feed the country he loved. Or meeting a Chinese rice farmer earning £2 per day on a construction site to supplement his income. If you are up for a real challenge, that will take you way beyond your comfort zone, apply now. You will never look back.