John Longwill Agricultural Scholar: Tina Tompkin

Tina Tompkin, second year BSc (Hons) Veterinary Nursing with Animal Rehabilitation student and recipient of The John Longwill Agricultural Scholarship.

“I applied for this scholarship because it is specifically to help young students from my home county of Leicestershire. I plan on utilising this award during my placement year to assist mainly with my petrol costs from getting to and from work. Unlike most placements undertaken at Harper Adams, it is very hard for a student vet nurse to find a practice that is willing to pay for a student. This scholarship has allowed me to accept a placement slightly further away that I really wanted”, says Tina, 20.

“This particular practice is very special to me as it is the chief veterinary practice for the Leicestershire Wildlife Trust. This means that I will get lots of invaluable experience with a variety of animals that I would not have encountered at another practice, as I hope to work more with exotic animals as my career progresses.”

Tina’s interests are not only zoological - she’s also a keen musician and amateur historian. “I have been incredibly blessed in the fact that as a child I got the chance to experience and learn many different musical instruments, and have always been a part an orchestra. My biggest achievement so far has been being able to take part in the Youth Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London as a front desk cellist.

“Another one of my personal hobbies is my family tree. I have spent many hours writing and re-writing the names of my family members. I have now managed to reach over eight hundred names on my family tree - and am by no means finished. This project has helped me reach out to people that I never would have known about.”

Tina, from Countesthorpe, has more reason than most to pay keen attention to her course tutors. “I have always had a passion for helping animals so from a young age I knew I wanted to work in the veterinary industry. Veterinary nursing is an incredible career to be a part of and I can’t wait to gain my degree and start working. However, my overall dream is to become a lecturer at another agricultural University or College one day, to share the knowledge I will have gained both during this degree and during my career after graduating.”