Worshipful Company of Poulters' Charitable Trust: Alexandra Hall

Alexandra Hall, 23, from Bentley, Warwickshire is a final year BSc Agriculture with Animal Science student and recipient of the Worshipful Company of Poulters' Charitable Trust Scholarship.

“My background had originally been in cattle, growing up on a family dairy and beef farm meant that I was exposed to and involved the daily runnings of the farm from a very young age. This provided me with extensive experience of working with cattle which led to a keen interest in the livestock sector.

“During my spare time I like to get involved in young farmers and I have successfully represented my club and county at both regional and national stock judging competitions. Being part of the beef stock judging team and retaining the title at the English winter fair has to be one of my greatest achievements so far.

“Studying Agriculture with Animal Science has given me the opportunity to follow through my passion for livestock in my academic studies. Having had no previous experience of poultry, my placement year spent at Europe’s largest commercial hatchery, Hy Line UK, has developed my awareness of the agricultural industry, which ignited my passion for poultry. Having the opportunity to immerse myself in the poultry industry allowed me to develop a flare for embryology work which is now the basis for my Honours Research Project.

“Through my placement year at Hy Line UK I was offered and accepted a graduate job with the company.

“In the summer of 2019 I will begin full time employment at Hy Line UK, as a result I will use this scholarship to widen my knowledge of the poultry industry further before entering my job role. One way in which I will do this is to visit other hatcheries, allowing me to pick up different ideas and strategies to improve hatchability and chick quality. By visiting other establishments, I will be able to adopt different techniques to help develop skills for assessing quality and developing the current system in place. Consequently, I will have a better understanding of how to apply my knowledge being of benefit to both myself and the company.

“I would like to thank The Worshipful Company of Poulters' Charitable Trust for the scholarship that they have awarded me with.”