Alamo Group Scholar: Mark Sherry

Mark Sherry, second year BSc Product Support Engineering student and recipient of the Alamo Group Scholarship.

“The scholarship means a great deal to me, as growing up I was never awarded anything as substantial. It has given me the extra confidence to strive to be the best at what I want to do. With this scholarship I have the freedom to invest in something that will benefit me in my path to becoming a professional qualified engineer. It will help me with the financial burden and therefore allow for me to focus even more on my studies and course work. I think it will have a profound impact on my future”, says Mark, 19.

Mark is keen to combine his engineering enthusiasm with his agricultural background. “I come from County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. My father was a mushroom farmer, and it was through that I gained my first experience of hard work. I recieved an insight into the fast-paced working environment of his business.

“When I was growing up you could find me building Meccano or Lego until I was old enough to work with power tools. When I went to school there were not many subjects where I had the opportunity to use my practical skills, until I went into secondary school. I preferred the practical subjects of construction studies and especially engineering.

“I chose to study at Harper Adams, as in my view, they offered a more practical ‘hands on’ approach in their method of learning than any college in Ireland. They also have societies that allows you to work with off-road and motorsport vehicles in the engineering workshop at the university.”

Despite his committed attitude, it’s not all work for Mark. “My ambitions are to succeed at my course and work for a highly-renowned company where I will be part of the next generation of engineers manufacturing machines or products to be used in the future. But when I am not studying, I enjoy socialising with Harper Ireland and my friends from my year group at the weekend.”