Scholarship for star student

A YOUNG Navan engineering student has been awarded the Devenish STEM scholarship.

Eighteen year old Tom Fitzgerald, a son of Orla and Ciaran Fitzgerald of Athlumney Abbey was awarded the scholarship in a ceremony at Dowth Hall recently.
Tom, a former student of St Patrick's Classical School, who is studying engineering at Trinity College, said he was delighted with the scholarship, which he said means a lot to him and his family.
"This is a great opportunity. It makes a massive difference to my family. I have two younger brothers, one of whom is doing his Leaving Cert this year, so this will help take the financial pressure off my family.
"I would like to thank my parents, as well as my teachers in St Pats and Yellow Furze and of course, Devenish."
Tom was always interested in science and engineering and as a second class pupil in St Pats was a member of a team who took second place in the junior /technology category of the BT Young Scientists Competition.
"We developed Digital Science, an interactive website that teaches science to primary school children."
The project also won a special award from Google which saw the team spend three days at workshops in Google's European Headquarters in Dublin.
It also won at the Silicon Valley ITLG Summit in Fingal and the team also won Young Innovators of the Year 2015.
Tom has been involved in scouting since he was very young, having been a beaver, cub, scout, venturer and now a rover.
He has been a county, provincial nd national representative in the scouting organisation, having been voted for by his peers and he has represented them at various events.
He loves outdoor activities, including camping, mountaineering and kayaking and has competed in the Liffey Descent three times, taking second place in his category.
"I have also climbed the highest peaks in all four Irish provinces and the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales," he said.
Tom would love climb more mountains around the world and one of his dreams is to visit the Galapagos islands.
Tom is a keen environmentalist.
"The natural world that I have seen through scouting and outdoor pursuits has shown me how fantastic the world is," he said.
"We  have a duty to protect the world for future generations and the best way to do that is by research and education.
"Whether it is pressing issues like climate change or endless advancements in areas like genetics, huge strides have been made. Advancement are needed to support a larger worldwide population.
"It would be great to be involved in work that would make a positive difference," he said.
"I would love to work internationally and a build a career in a strong ethical organization," he added.
Owen Brennan, Executive Chairman of Devenish, said: “We’re delighted to present Tom with this scholarship. As a company with science and innovation at our core, we are always keen to help nurture and develop the next generation. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Tom all the very best in his studies.”