The newly created Barry and Ann Walker prize set up by Katherine and named after her parents, was presented to final year BA (Hons) Business Management student Jake, 23, from Middlesbrough.
Jake was awarded the £500 prize and trophy for achieving the highest mark on the Employability for Business module of his degree. He said: 'I was really surprised to be told I’d been awarded this prize, but it’s great to get this recognition which has really motivated me during the final year of my degree.'
After A-levels at Prior Pursglove in Guisborough, Jake, 23, studied in Leeds before being offered an opportunity to leave his studies and start his career early in London as a project manager in the IT industry. But he soon decided to return to his hometown to resume his education at Teesside University.
'Working in London was a great experience, I worked in the City of London and also Canary Wharf and was lucky enough to also travel abroad with my role. But to enable me to progress in my career I needed a degree, so after hearing positive things from friends who had previously studied at Teesside I returned home to study at the University,' he added.
Katherine’s aim in setting up the prize was to reward a high achiever on the Employability for Business module.
When she left school, Katherine, 46, of Redcar, didn't consider higher education. Instead, she started a secretarial course and began working for a law firm, then the Crown Prosecution Service.
She returned to study as her career progressed, taking on roles in trading standards enforcement and tackling anti-social behaviour, regeneration and community safety across Teesside.
Katherine went on to an assistant director role with the Home Office’s Respect Taskforce, later returning to local government in Teesside before taking up her current role as an Assistant Director with what was the UK Border Agency, now Immigration Enforcement within the Home Office.
She said: 'When I left school I didn’t really think about higher education and instead started work. But I returned to education as a way of progressing in my career.'
She was among Teesside’s first cohort of students to undertake the University’s own law degree, graduating in 1996. She went on to win a scholarship to complete an MBA (Master of Business Administration) in 2010.
Katherine said: 'I've been very lucky as the Crown Prosecution Service, who I was working for at the time, part-sponsored me to complete the law degree and then winning a full scholarship to undertake the MBA at Teesside was amazing.
'I’m hoping that by awarding a prize to a student it's a way of giving something back and hopefully will help to inspire.'
Katherine said about the prize being in the name of her parents Barry and Ann Walker: 'They recently celebrated their 50th anniversary and it’s a fitting tribute to them for the support they've given to me over the years.'
She added: 'I wanted to continue to work full-time while studying, so Teesside University’s location was ideal for me. The facilities are great and studying at Teesside really helped to broaden my knowledge.'
To find out more about sponsoring a student prize contact Alex Robertson on a.robertson@tees.ac.uk or 01642 738227.