Principal's Medal: Nina Udvardi-Lakos
Tuesday 3 December 2019
I should now like to introduce the Principal’s Medal. This award was inaugurated ten years ago with a gift from three anonymous donors and is supported by Ede and Ravenscroft, believed to be the oldest firm of tailors and robe-makers in the world.
The award of the Principal’s Medal recognises students who display exceptional endeavour and achievement during their time at St Andrews. The awards are open to final-year undergraduates and to postgraduates in any discipline. The achievements celebrated are academic as well as sporting, musical, or other attainments. This morning we recognise Nina Udvardi-Lakos, who has just received her Master of Science by Research in Psychology.
Nina joined the University of St Andrews in 2014, and she first graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology. Nina’s nomination references an outstanding undergraduate career, in which she was placed on the Dean’s List for Outstanding Academic Achievement for each year of study. In addition to being awarded a first class degree and multiple prizes in her main disciplines, Nina also won awards for her performance in Astronomy and Ecology at sub-honours level – speaking to the breadth of her hard work and expertise. Nina continued at St Andrews to undertake the Master of Science degree with which she has graduated today, and I am very pleased to recognise that she has just started a PhD in the field of pedagogical psychology at the University of Freiburg in Germany.
In addition to her academic studies, Nina has engaged widely in extra-curricular and voluntary activities. Supporting young people is clearly a particular passion for Nina who, in her third year as an undergraduate, created with her friends an educational programme for school children, entitled ‘Neuroscience for Kids! Inner GPS’. This course, which has since operated in nurseries and schools across Fife, seeks to inspire an interest in psychology amongst children from an early age – and its intelligent design and visible impact have meant that it has secured two rounds of funding from the University. Nina has also volunteered as a mentor for the University’s First Chances and Gateway projects, whereby she offers support to incoming and prospective students to ensure that the transition to University is a smooth one. This work complements her role as a Senior Student Ambassador, in which capacity she has welcomed hundreds of visitors to St Andrews.
Nina has worked with and supported her peers at University, too: she has held leadership positions in a number of societies, including the Guide Dog society and the Teddy Bear Hospital society, for which she is a volunteer driver. In her second year, Nina founded the student society, Save the Elephants, which she led for three years. And in addition to these roles, Nina has organised mindfulness, study skills, and career workshops for her peers, demonstrating her commitment not only to her own success, but to that of the individuals around her.
Nina, in recognition of all that you have achieved both academically and personally during your time as an undergraduate, it gives me great pleasure to invite you to join me on stage now to receive your medal.
– Principal Sally Mapstone