Celebrate Your Lecturer Award winner, Gwyneth Hayward, and student, Ffion Targett, who nominated her for the award, inspire everyone to be ambitious
While accepting the Celebrate Your Lecturer Award at last year's Coleg Cymraeg Annual Awards, Gwyneth Hayward, lecturer in Physiotherapy at Cardiff University said that everyone has the right to be ambitious and make a difference, regardless of their background or level in Welsh.
Gwyneth was fifty years old accepting her first job as a lecturer, and in her uncertainty in deciding to change jobs later in her career, her two adult daughters' response was, 'Why not you, mum?'. Gwyneth had no qualifications in Welsh, nor had she received Welsh-medium higher education. But, more than five years on, Gwyneth is a Welsh-medium Physiotherapy lecturer and can combine three things she is passionate about: teaching, Physiotherapy and the Welsh language.
Ffion TargettGwyneth has had a huge impact on my life
According to one of her students, Ffion Targett, who nominated Gwyneth for the award, there is no doubt that Gwyneth is a great lecturer. But according to Ffion, Gwyneth has some qualities that go far beyond demand. In her speech to introduce her lecturer to the stage to receive the award, Ffion candidly shared that Gwyneth has had a huge impact on her life. A couple of months before starting her course, Ffion suddenly lost her father. During her first year on the course Ffion doubted she could complete the year, let alone complete the course. She mentioned that the support she received from Gwyneth made her feel comfortable enough to share her grief, worries and doubts. Now, thanks to the continued guidance and support of her lecturer, Ffion has graduated and accepted a position as a Physiotherapist at Singleton Hospital in Swansea.
Ffion was born in an English household in Port Talbot and Welsh is very important to her. As a young girl she had to travel to Ystalyfera every day to the nearest Welsh language school as there wasn't one in Port Talbot at the time. Her parents were keen for her to receive a Welsh language education, particularly her mother who worked for the National Health Service as she saw the value of Welsh from day to day.
After leaving school, Ffion lost her confidence in the Welsh language until she started her Physiotherapy course some years later and was re-reminded of the relevance and importance of Welsh by her lecturer, Gwyneth.
Ffion said,
I use my Welsh every day at work with my patients, and their faces brighten when they realise I speak Welsh, so I'm going to keep at it. As a child, it was very difficult for me to practise my Welsh in my area, so I became shy and didn't have the confidence to speak it. I'm very grateful that I met Gwyneth at university because she has inspired me in every way. Not only to recapture my Welshness, but it has also given me the confidence to see that anything is possible, even during challenging times. During a very difficult and dark time for me, I had a bit of hope, so I'd like to say a big thank you to Gwyneth for giving me that
Gwyneth said,
"I was so grateful to Ffion for nominating me for the award and also very grateful for the vision of the Coleg. The Welsh language has become a very important part of my work as a lecturer, and I am pleased that there has been a significant increase in the number of students studying Physiotherapy through the medium of Welsh. But more than that, it's really important that students are happy at university. My role to keep an eye on them and be the person they can come to when they need to is a vital one. As a lecturer or personal tutor, it is a privilege to be a small part of someone's journey and to see them grow morally and professionally, and develop into good citizens. It's a pleasure to see how much Ffion has developed over the past few years. In accepting my award, I gave Ffion the same advice that my daughters gave me before I accepted the lecturing post five years ago: 'Why not you, Ffion?' We all have the right to go far, to be ambitious, and to try to make a difference."
If you are a student and are keen to nominate a lecturer who has made a special difference to your life at university, nominations open for the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol Awards 2024 on 30 January 2024.
An individual or group of students can nominate for the Celebrate Your Lecturer Award
In addition a number of other awards have been established in different fields and students, lecturers, and employers (in the apprenticeship field) have the opportunity to nominate individuals for the variety of categories.
To see the full list of categories, guidelines, and to nominate, all details are on the Awards page on the Coleg Cymraeg website from 30 January 2024.
The annual awards celebrate the achievements of the brightest students, learners, apprentices and lecturers and those who have contributed significantly towards Welsh medium and bilingual post-compulsory education over the year.
The winners will be announced at an awards night in the summer term.
Visit Coleg Cymraeg’s Instagram, Facebook, X, or Tik Tok to see content on the Coleg Cymraeg Awards, or visit the Coleg’s website for more information.