Alltech Scholarship, Harper Adams in Ireland: Colin Henry

Colin Henry, 20 from Ballymoney, Northern Ireland is a second year BSc (Hons) Agriculture with Crop Management student and a recipient of Alltech Scholarship, Harper Adams in Ireland.

“In my first year, I had the opportunity to apply for the Alltech scholarship through the Harper Adams in Ireland Association. I thought there was no harm in applying even though I never thought I would be successful. I was thrilled to receive this scholarship and have used the money to finance some land-based qualifications such as PA1 sprayer training and tele handler courses. I am going to use my next payment to go towards a new laptop which should prove very useful for my placement and final years.”

Colin grew up on a family farm that owns 120 acres of potatoes as well as a pedigree Suckler herd of Aubrac cattle and a bull hiring business. He said, “My passion to develop my farming skills further led me to consider a degree in Agriculture. When I visited Harper Adams in 2016, I was so impressed with all the facilities and opportunities on offer. I felt there was more of a ‘family feel’ in comparison to other universities I had previously visited. After the successful completion of A levels, I decided it was time to head to Harper, opting to study BSc Agriculture. I chose to study here for its reputation as an Agricultural University along with the reports of it being the number one university for best student experience.”

Colin shared his experience as Chairman of Harper Ireland; he said, “During my first year, I was elected as Chairman of Harper Ireland which involved numerous roles and responsibilities. We recently had our annual Harper Ireland dinner which I chaired. This was a big occasion as it was the clubs 25^th year anniversary so past clubs members and chairs were invited. It was great to meet them and hear of their memories within the club.

“My last role as chairman is being in charge of the Paddy’s Ball committee which is made up of some Harper Ireland members. Paddy’s Ball will take place on 15^th March 2019 and we expect to have around 2400 people attending.”