What is The Common Good Award?
The Common Good Award is a skills and personal development award which aims to encourage, support and reward students who are engaged in co and extra-curricular activity aligned to the Common Good. It will also help you to develop the skills and attributes that employers now increasingly expect in addition to a university degree.
Glasgow Caledonian is the University for the Common Good and our mission is to make a positive difference to the communities we serve.
Common Good Award Recipients
Congratulations to all of our students who have achieved the Common Good Award. We have highlighted stories below from some of our amazing students who have recently achieved the award, and we will continue to add to these stories throughout the year. Well done to all of our award recipients so far!
Cristina Talanco, BA (Hons) International Business and Tourism Management: Cristina received the Common Good Award for co-founding the 'GCU Donuts' project - a voluntary activity run by Cristina and a fellow student to provide educational opportunities for orphaned children in the village of Molo, Kenya, and also for her role as Events Coordinator for the Erasmus Student Network at GCU. See Cristina's story here
Thomas Bartlome, BA (Hons) International Business: Thomas received the Common Good Award for his various activities as President of Enactus at GCU. Thomas's activities included working with the homeless charity 'Mission Kitchen', helping address youth unemployment in deprived areas through the 'Work Ready Action Plan' (WRAP) programme, promoting the UN Sustainability Goals, and overseeing the activities of the GCU Enactus student team. See Thomas's story here
Tarandeep Kaur, BA (Hons) Business Management: Tarandeep received her Common Good Award for a range of activities which included her role as a GCU Outreach Mentor inspiring and supporting school pupils to aspire to further and higher education, and as a GCU Student Ambassador to provide information and a welcoming face to new GCU students, including delivery of food packages to students at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. Tarandeep was also a Global Ambassador during her placement year at Northeastern University in the US, where she volunteered with the Indian social start-up 'Bridge Cultures', as well as taking part in the 'Africa Global Initiative' which helped African students experiencing financial hardship to attend Northeastern University. See Tarandeep''s story here.
Elaine Penman, BSc (Hons) Nutrition and Dietetics: Elaine received the Common Good Award for her work as an NHS Ward Volunteer in Orthopaedics at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, her work with the Common Good Society and the Nutrition and Dietetics Society at GCU including food bank drives and healthy eating initiatives, and her role as an NHS volunteer with the 'Covid 19 Wishlist' project. See Elaine's story here
Kelsey Marshall, BA (Hons) Social Sciences: Kelsey received the Common Good Award for her work as a volunteer at Balornock Primary School, as a mentor with the GCU Outreach Team, as a GCU Student Ambassador, and her work as a member of the GCU Enactus programme, working to support the homeless community in Glasgow through the 'Mission Kitchen' project. See Kelsey's story here
Ryan Johnston, BSc/BSc Hons Cell & Molecular Biology: Ryan received the Common Good Award for his work as a Student Mentor with the GCU Outreach Team, his role as a Wellbeing Volunteer, and his work with the GCU Common Good Society including food bank drives and healthy eating initiatives. See Ryan's story here
Tóra Jóhannusardóttir, BSc (Hons) Digital Design (Graphics): Tóra received the Common Good Award for her role as a GCU Global Buddy, her work as Head Designer for the GCU 'Edit' Magazine, her support for the 'Unfolding Good Together' Ted X project at GCU, and her mentoring, support and promotion to students of a departmental European project to help ensure it's continuation. See Tóra's story here
Ryan Hesketh, MA Multimedia Journalism: Ryan received the Common Good Award for his role as a VSO volunteer in Nepal, collaborative learning with prison inmates, a regional coordinator with XR, and raising awareness of drug abuse and other issues through the 'Release' blog site. See Ryan's story here
Heather Longbottom, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy: Heather received the Common Good Award for her work as a volunteer with the 'Reach4Reality' Autism charity, her volunteer work with the Blythswood foodbank, her volunteer work as a refugee support worker in Serbia, and for her role as Treasurer of the GCU Christian Union.
Megan Kavanagh, MSc International Business Management: Megan received the Common Good Award for her work as a refugee volunteer in Calais, her role as Vice President of the NPH Society at GCU, her role as Youth Mentor and Coordinator with the XR movement, and for her work as Class Representative for the MSc International Business Management programme.
Fabian Yii, BSc (Hons) Optometry: Fabian received the Common Good Award for his work as a Student Ambassador at GCU, a Student Mentor with the GCU Outreach Team, a Class Representative on the BSc (Hons) Optometry programme, and his support for others as an exchange student at a Summer School in South Korea.
Allen Agomuoh Chukwuma, MSc International Business Management: Allen received the Common Good Award for various roles including reforestation volunteering in Cyprus, involvement with a Wood Recycling Project as part of the Future Leaders programme, raising awareness of social issues as a volunteer at the Glasgow Film Festival, and his work supporting a local business as part of a Business Start-up Challenge in Nicosia.
Alwell Maduakolam, MSc Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Research: Alwell received his Common Good Award for a variety of volunteer and mentoring roles including volunteering as an Optometric Mentor with the Nigerian Optometric Association, mentoring and supervising optometry technician students in Gambia, contributing to workshops, seminars and a bursary scheme to combat school drop-out rates and empower young women in Nigeria, and coordinating optometry interns for the Nigerian Optometric Association.
Jeremy Chia, MSc Insurance and Sustainable Risk Management (GCU London): Jeremy received his Common Good Award for providing pro bono consulting services for a number of social enterprises and non-profit organisations, his Ambassador roles with SCI iMAP and CII (UK and Singapore), and his event planning support for SGPAW Friends, promoting animal welfare.
Stefan Corradini, BSc (Hons) Cell & Molecular Biology: Stefan received the Common Good Award for his work as a GCU Student Ambassador, Class Representative on the BSc (Hons) Cell & Molecular Biology programme, and his work as a Foodbank Coordinator in Austurias, Spain. Stefan was also a GCU Student Leader. See Stefan's story here
Sandra Kubasik, BSc/BSc (Hons) Computer Games (Art and Animation): Sandra received the Common Good Award for her work as a GCU Student Ambassador, a Woodcraft Folk volunteer, a support worker with SENSE Scotland, a Wellbeing Volunteer, and her participation in the GCU Student Voice project. See Sandra's story here
Taylor McCririe, LLB (Hons) Bachelor of Laws: Taylor received her Common Good Award for her roles as Operations Case Manager and Outreach Manager with the GCU Law Clinic, her work with school pupils through the Street Law Teaching project, and using her British Sign Language qualification to sign Law Clinic videos to make them more accessible. See Taylor's story here.
Kate Karnaukhova, LLB (Hons) Bachelor of Laws: Kate received the Common Good Award for her work as President and Co-President of the GCU Law Society and her volunteer work with the GCU Law Clinic, including using her BSL qualification to sign Law Clinic videos, making them more accessible for the deaf community. See Kate's story here
How can I achieve the Common Good Award?
Participation in the Common Good Award could not be easier! First, achieve one or more of our Common Good Attribute certificates by providing evidence of paid or unpaid activity you have been involved with, and which aligns with our Common Good mission. This could be activity you are already engaged with such as mentoring, ambassadorial work, class rep, clubs and societies etc., or 'off campus' work such as volunteering or working with youth or community groups. You will receive a certificate signed by our Principal, Professor Pamela Gillies, for each attribute you complete!
If you achieve all four Common Good certificates, we will invite you to send us a short 'digital story' telling us how your Common Good activity has had an impact and made a positive difference to the individuals, groups or communities you have been working with. You can find advice and support on making your digital story here.
If you are not already involved in Common Good activity, you can find a whole range of things to get involved with at our Common Good Opportunities webpages, or you can visit the Work Experience Hub for 'on campus' work experience opportunities. We also have information on a huge range of internships, part-time, and voluntary opportunities at our Work Experience pages.
See our step by step process below:
How do I sign up for the Common Good Award?
Signing up for the Common Good Award could not be easier. Simply send an email to us at cgapplications@gcu.ac.uk with your name and student number, and we will take it from there!
Where can I find out more about The Common Good Award?
email cgaward@gcu.ac.uk with any queries.
What do employers say about the Common Good Award?
Paul Harkness (Hawk Consultancy) talks about the Common Good Award from an employers perspective.
What do students say about the Common Good Award?
Contact us
If you have any queries about any aspect of The Common Good Award, please email us at cgaward@gcu.ac.uk. We look forward to hearing from you!