GUA News: Turning Recognition into action for others
GUA Alumni launches Students’ Conference designed to support working-class and first-generation undergraduate students
April 9, 2026
by Diane Nolan
From Recognition to Reflection: How One GUA Alumni Is Helping Create Space for recognition with barriers
When we speak about the value of undergraduate recognition, we often focus on the immediate moment: the celebration of achievement, the acknowledgement of hard work, the validation that comes from seeing exceptional effort recognised on an international stage.
But the most meaningful outcomes of recognition happen afterwards.
One of the most rewarding parts of working at The Global Undergraduate Awards is seeing what happens after the recognition.
We are incredibly proud to see Global Undergraduate Awards alumni Sharon Berhane helping launch the first Durham University Students’ Conference (DUSC), an academic conference designed to support working-class and first-generation undergraduate students as they engage with academic presentation, networking and conference participation for the first time.
What makes this story particularly special is that Sharon has cited her own experience attending the Global Undergraduate Awards Summit as part of the inspiration behind the initiative.
Sharon described the experience of taking part in a conference as a kind of “role-reversal”. Making her more confident and more proud of her work.
When she found out she had won a Thomas Clarkson Bronze award, she initially had doubts she could attend, given the potential cost. However, she was deeply touched by how 30 members of Durham Uni staff and the Wolfson Research Institute came together to crowd-fund her trip. Hence, she created DUSC to pay this enormous kindness forward and allow for other disadvantaged Durham students in a similar position to access the same incredible opportunity.
Taking part in a conference as a kind of a role-reversal - that of student to academic, and it made me more confident and more proud of (my) work
Having experienced first-hand the confidence and perspective that comes from presenting your work in an academic setting, she has taken that experience and used it to create the same opportunity for others.
That, in many ways, is the real purpose of recognition.
Awards and accolades are meaningful in themselves, but their greatest value is often found in what they inspire afterwards. The best recognition does not simply acknowledge past achievement, but it changes how students see themselves and what they believe they are capable of contributing in the future.
For some, that means pursuing further research. For others, it means stepping into leadership, and for people like Sharon, it means creating entirely new opportunities so that others can experience the same encouragement and development.
Too often, academic success is viewed as an individual accomplishment alone. But stories like this remind us that when students are empowered early, the effects rarely stop with them. Confidence becomes initiative, initiative becomes leadership, and leadership creates impact far beyond the individual.
We are delighted to see Sharon building something so meaningful and so necessary, and proud that her time with the Global Undergraduate Awards played even a small role in that journey.
Congratulations to Sharon and to everyone involved in bringing DUSC to life. This is exactly the kind of ripple effect undergraduate recognition is meant to create.
Read more about it – https://thetab.com/2026/04/07/the-first-durham-university-students-conference-dusc-announced-for-this-summer
