2008 Principal's Medal winners

A staff member and a student were named as winners of the inaugural 2008 Principal's Medals.

Due to the exceptional quality of the entries in this first year, it was decided to make two awards - one to a member of staff and one to a student.

Staff winner

The staff winner was Lesley Forrest, a Senior Administrative Assistant in Financial Accounting.

Lesley was described as “an inspiration to us all” by the colleagues who nominated her. Since undergoing a kidney transplant eleven years ago, she has represented Team GB at several transplant games, winning many gold, silver and bronze medals and has used her experience to undertake voluntary work with organ donors and transplant recipients.

In 2007 she voluntarily helped to manage the British Transplant Games in Edinburgh and recently became a member of the newly-formed Transplant Support Network.

Student winner

The student winner was Grant Guthrie who was recognised for his work across a range of UK and international charitable initiatives.

In Edinburgh he has volunteered with several charities including Oxfam, Edinburgh Global Partnerships - a student-run international development charity - and The Welcoming, which provides assistance to refugees.

In Glasgow, Grant worked with Bill’s Workshop, which assists people recovering from mental health problems, and he volunteered to run computing classes and day trips for the charity Epilepsy Connections.

As part of his work with Edinburgh Global Partnerships, Grant travelled abroad to Uganda, where he helped to run sexual health workshops, and to Nepal to develop educational facilities in a Nepali township.