Drumkeerin STEM student wins Trinity College scholarship

With exam season in full swing, this week the Leitrim Observer spoke to Leitrim student, Sorcha Lowe who has just completed her first year of Theoretical Physics at Trinity College Dublin.
Sorcha, a former student of Lough Allen College, Drumkerrin, Leitrim, was the recipient of a €25,000 scholarship for The Naughton Foundation last October.
Speaking to the Leitirm Observer, Sorcha said that her mother Taekal made the application on her behalf. "She found the Naughton Foundation Scholarship and told me that I should apply for it. She really pushed to do it even though I really didn't think I'd have a chance so I'm very glad that she did!"
Interestingly, Sorcha said that she originally did not want to study physics but a sixth year physics trip to CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland, changed all that.

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"I never really knew what I wanted to do. I knew that I wanted to do a STEM subject but I was leaning towards biology. Our physics teacher, Mike Doherty, organsied that. We were there for a few days and got the whole tour and went to all these talks. I always liked physics and maths but had never really considered doing them in college but after the trip I started thinking about doing something in those areas. I said it to my career guidance counsellor and he was the one that found the course at Trinity. It's a mixture of maths and physics and that was perfect for me. I actually hadn't heard of a course like it before so it's a bit of niche course."
Sorcha told us she is loving college life and enjoying the spectacular surroundings of Trinity College. "I really really like it. It's so much fun. I love the campus; its so pretty and lectures don't feel as tedious when you have such a lovely setting to do them in."
Sorcha spent her first year as a student at Trinity Hall in Rathmines and said the scholarship went a long way towards funding her accommodation. "It paid for my accommodation which was really really welcome because I had been looking for a job at the start of the year because obviously, renting is not cheap. Once I got the scholarship that took a lot of the pressure off me and meant I didn't have to look for a job. That was really beneficial because I definitely focused more on my studies without the hassle of having to work on top of them as well."

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Sorcha said she would highly recommend the scholarship to other STEM students. "The scholarship helped me so much; I can't even picture how different this year would have been. Because, I didn't have to work, it gave me the chance to come home on the weekends."
Last year's awards were presented by the founding patrons of the Naughton Foundation, Dr Martin Naughton and his wife Carmel, who were joined by An Taoiseach Simon Harris and took place in the Trinity Business School in Dublin. "It was lovely to meet all the scholarship winners. One of the points that were made at the ceremony was that this was the first year there were more girls than boys. One third of my course are girls too."
The Naughton Foundation Scholarship scheme is now inviting all applicants from County Leitrim to submit their entries as the 2025 closing date quickly approaches.
The scheme promotes the study of engineering, science and technology at third level by students in Ireland and each year from February to June, Leaving Certificate students can apply for a scholarship if they intend on studying science, computer science, mathematics, engineering or technology at third level that year.
Students are invited to apply if they are currently attending secondary schools in County Leitrim, and if they are studying two or more of the following subjects- physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, mathematics, and applied mathematics.

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The 2025 application forms for The Naughton Foundation Scholarship Programme are available for download and can be completed online on The Naughton Foundation website (www.thenaughtonfoundation.com)
The closing date for receipt of applications is Saturday, June 29.