Harper Adams University student bags Highly Commended at Women in Property Awards ceremony
A student from Harper Adams was one of three winners of the “highly commended” award at the West Midlands Final of the Women in Property National Student Awards 2023.
BSc (Hons) Rural Property Management student, Liv Addison-Carter, presented a design for a new farm manager’s house on the Harper Adams estate for her entry and then faced a series of questions at the judging panel earlier this year, where she secured her place in the regional final.
Liv said: “It was a really useful and constructive experience and I would encourage anyone else who had the opportunity to do it.
“I was the only contender there with a rural background – which was interesting because I was able to add another dimension to my presentation, which people were interested in hearing about.
“It’s what interests me and I think my passion shone through and allowed me to do well at it, and because it’s what I’m interested in, I was able to speak well and engage the judges.”
Liv praised judges Janet Rowley and Imogen Smazanovich for their help at the panel event – as well as Harper Adams Land and Property Management Course Manager Dr Mark Simcock for nominating her for the awards in the first place.
She added: “After my presentation, I had a feedback meeting with Janet. The judges didn’t have a bad word to say about me – she read through two or three pages of feedback from each judge about how you presented; what your presentation was like, how well you spoke, how well you engaged, how well you answered the questions.
“So the feedback was positive and they said I had a constructive sense of humour because I was cracking jokes the whole time. So, yes, I was pleased with that.”
Then, in June, a networking event was held at Savills in Birmingham where both the East Midlands and the West Midlands competition winners were announced.
Liv added: “Lots of professionals came, lecturers and I brought my friend, Charlotte which was nice.
“We all had big boards to display our projects on to give people at the event the opportunity to come around and ask us questions.
“I was really happy to have received the Highly Commended award – there was some stiff competition and I think the winner was very deserving.
“I’d definitely recommend that anyone who gets the opportunity should enter the awards – because it sounds like a daunting challenge and a massive process, but it’s so well supported and well-structured and the people who are running it are always at the other end of the Teams phone whenever you need them. They were so incredibly helpful to me.
“It’s boosted my confidence that I can talk eloquently about what I know – I know that I know it, but being able to tell somebody else matters.
“I know now that I can confidently and eloquently communicate my ideas and knowledge.”