Joy Newton from Co. Sligo, a graduate of DCU’s BA in Communications Studies, is one of the two NTR Foundation scholarship recipients enrolled in the newly established MSc in Climate Change: Policy, Media and Society at DCU in 2018/19.
In this piece, Joy tells us how her interest in climate change was piqued and why being a part of the course is so important to her.
After four extremely enjoyable years in Dublin City University, I graduated from my BA in Communications Studies in 2016. Shortly after, I began working with a business consultancy firm where my area of specialism was water and the role it plays in our society. I really enjoyed it because it allowed me to work on exciting projects with some of the biggest water companies in the UK. 2018 was an extremely difficult year, with drought and water scarcity becoming a serious issue and this highlighted to me that, as a society, we were not adequately prepared for climate change or any of the further problems we may encounter as a result down the line.
I wanted to do something about it and therefore enrolled in the MSc in Climate Change, Policy, Media and Society in DCU.
Similarly to my undergraduate degree and due to unforeseen difficult family circumstances, financing my studies was a challenge. I worked hard and kept down a number of jobs to assist with this but when I was received the news that I was being awarded the NTR Foundation Scholarship, I was over the moon.
I’ve always been very thankful for the support provided to me by DCU, through the DCU Access Programme initially, and now the NTR Foundation for my postgraduate studies. As a result, I always did my best in college to ensure I honoured the commitment others had made to me. Education is very important to me and I firmly believe it is one of the most valuable assets we can attain.
I’m really enjoying the Masters and my hope is that through my education, I will gain enough knowledge to make companies aware of the risks that climate change will bring for both themselves and their clients. I want to help them devise plans to mitigate and adapt to these impending risks, and thanks to the NTR Foundation this has been made possible.
I’m glad to say that through their support I have the chance to study a topic that will define our existence both now and in the future.