Busy Sheffield student wins national award for lockdown charity work

A student from Sheffield Hallam, who was furloughed and used the opportunity to work for a charity, has been named as Apprentice of the Year.
Julia Armstrong
By Julia Armstrong
Published 17th Dec 2020, 21:20 BST
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Freya Woodward received the accolade at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Young Surveyor of the Year Awards ceremony.

She received the award in recognition for the way she used the opportunity of being furloughed from her job at Arcadis to approach the charity Shelter Centre.

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This led to her working remotely on projects in partnership with the United Nations and the International Organisation for Migration, such as creating guidance on how to rebuild areas severely impacted by military conflict and mitigating the impact of Covid-19 in refugee camps.

Student Freya Woodward, who has won a national award for her charity workStudent Freya Woodward, who has won a national award for her charity work
Student Freya Woodward, who has won a national award for her charity work

She undertook these projects alongside her studies and will graduate from Sheffield Hallam with a first-class degree in construction project management in May 2021.

Freya said: “I like to be busy so when I was furloughed, I knew I had to use the time to make a difference and show what I can do.”

“I’m delighted to have won this award as there were some really strong contenders who were also nominated.”

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She is now back working for Arcadis, within their defence team, supporting numerous projects with the Ministry of Defence.

Nurse runs to support her hospital

Freya is also the daughter of Louise Brooke-Smith OBE, a Sheffield Hallam graduate and honorary doctor, who become the first woman to hold the position of RICS global president in 2014/2015.

On following in her mother’s footsteps, Freya said: “I believe having such an impressive female role model has shown me, and many other young professionals across the built environment sector, that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.”

The award winners were announced at a virtual ceremony which featured a series of discussion groups led by established industry figures, leaders in RICS and former winners of the Young Surveyor of the Year Awards.

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The news comes as Hallam student Henry Yang was also highly commended at the AT Awards in the Student Award for Excellence in Architectural Technology (Project) category for his Sheaf Valley Link Project.

The judges said his design “combined sustainable measures with a mix of structural elements on a very challenging site.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor

Related topics:Sheffield