Congratulations to our alumna now tutor Lucy James for her nomination at the NEON Awards for Student of the Year. 

The NEON Awards will be held at the Palace of Westminster and celebrate institutions and people who are working to widen access and participation.

The Student of the Year award recognises those who have worked with their institution in this field. 

Lucy is a care experienced person who comprise one of the most under-represented groups within higher education, with just 14 percent attending university, and 62 percent of this demographic having the resources and support to complete their degrees.

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Lucy said: "Being shortlisted for this award is not only a significant personal honour, but also recognises ICMP's incredible attention to widening participation."

Being nurtured and championed by the Access and Participation team, alongside the support of my exceptional tutors and fellow students, empowered me to access my true potential during my MA studies. Within the ICMP community, my differences were not simply accepted, but actively celebrated as strengths."

"I am incredibly fortunate to have the most wonderful support network in my foster family, my friends and my leaving care worker; these are the people who encouraged me to take the leap into my MA journey and cheered me on until the finish line. I appreciate that this privilege is not afforded to all CEP, and I aim to facilitate a supportive dialogue with those who'd benefit from first-hand advice on stepping into higher education."

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"The gap in access to higher education for care-experienced people will take 107 years to close at its current rate. We still have an incredibly long way to go. Being somewhat of an anomaly, I'm encouraged by NEON's mission to shed light on individuals and institutions that defy the odds. I'm hopeful that we can continue to celebrate underrepresented experiences and hold up a mirror to academia's historical gatekeeping practices."

From establishing herself in musical theatre to releasing her own artist material and working as an educator as a member of ICMP's teaching faculty, Lucy has a huge amount of expertise across many areas of today's music industry. 

Read more in our recent interview with Lucy. Good luck to Lucy at the awards!  

Find out more.

Main photo credit - Verity Milligan.

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