When Anne-Frances McCrea (Zoology, Third Year) was still in primary school, her grandad brought her some old secondary school science textbooks and she devoured them. With legendary conservationist and TV presenter Steve Irwin as her idol, she dreamed of becoming a vet. So why was she considering leaving school after her GCSEs?

“I am from a single parent household and was the main carer for my mother and my brother from a very young age,” Anne-Frances explains. “I thought leaving school made sense for me to bring more money into our home but my family said no. They said I’d worked too hard to stop now so we decided I would keep going and see what happened.”

Anne-Frances did keep going. And while she was working towards her A-levels, Queen’s Outreach Officer Ted Jensen visited her school to talk about Queen’s Pathway Opportunity Programme, which is designed to remove barriers to higher education. She applied – and was accepted:

“I’d often walked past Queen’s and thought it was beautiful. But it never crossed my mind that I could go there.

(Anne-Frances McCrea, Zoology, Third Year).

“I received a £1,000 Pathway bursary which means I don’t have to take out so many loans, or work a part-time job. It means I can, instead, focus on my studies.” Right now, Anne-Frances is working on conservation genetics, which tracks how animals are evolving and adapting in the natural world: “The skills I’m learning will equip me to work with DNA in a wide variety of roles.”

The life-changing Pathway Bursary is just one of many projects supported by the Queen’s Foundation.

“The Foundation is one of the key ingredients at Queen’s,” says Board member Georgina Copty. “We want everyone to know that the Foundation is here to make Queen’s, Belfast and Northern Ireland an even better place.”

Established in 1999, and celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, it’s the Foundation’s job to raise money for the vital work Queen’s does. That’s everything from big capital projects, such as creating the new Seamus Heaney Centre, to funding pioneering medical research and scholarships. Smaller initiatives matter too – the Foundation also runs the Queen’s Annual Fund, which supports projects enhancing the student experience including sports, societies and community enterprises.

Philanthropy helps support elite athletes at Queen’s but also supports services that allow all students to enjoy a healthy balance of work and play.

Queen’s medical student and fitness enthusiast, Philip Osoba, says support for sport at university is crucial: “It’s so good to know that sport can get the support it needs to buy equipment and take part in competitions, meaning students can take a break from their studies to get some well-earned exercise and head space.

Philip Osoba, (Medicine and Dentistry, Fourth Year).

“Sport has definitely been useful in relieving stress from my course and, if more funding is delivered to similar programmes, I’m sure it will help other students.”

Keelin Stewart (English Literature, 2015) has been a supporter of the Annual Fund from her undergraduate days. She was inspired by her time as a student caller, ringing Queen’s graduates to chat to them about what the Fund is and what it does: “It was great fun talking to people from the Queen’s community and raising money for some fantastic projects, including Mind Your Mood, a campaign to improve student mental health, and a drive to put life-saving defibrillators in the University’s sports halls.”

Keelin Stewart (English Literature, 2015)

At first, Keelin donated a small amount once a quarter: these days, she donates £25 a month. “That’s the equivalent of buying one coffee a week,” Keelin explains. Why has she chosen Queen’s? “There are so many things that the Fund helps with, I don’t feel like I’m giving to just one charity. I know the money will go to all kinds of good causes. And when you donate, you pay it forward. Perhaps you’ll donate and 10 years later, that donation will benefit your child or grandchild.”

Of course, philanthropy has been part of Queen’s DNA right from the start: “Queen’s has always fostered fundamental values – the importance of scholarships and the importance of philanthropy,” Georgina explains. “Both Riddel Hall and Whitla Hall are named after major donors. Both those names are synonymous with the University: philanthropy is at Queen’s core.”

Philanthropy is hugely important to Georgina and her family, too: as well as being a Foundation board member, she is also a donor. In 2020, she and her husband, Chris McDowell (Engineering, 1992), set up the Queen’s Copty Scholarship, which is awarded annually. It supports a postgraduate student from Palestine who would otherwise not be able to study at Queen’s due to financial limitations.

“We believe in the power of education to change lives,” says Georgina. “So we support initiatives that are aligned with that value. Queen’s worked closely with us. They listened, heard and implemented our vision. There are some amazing universities out there, but not all of them have the values that Queen’s embodies.”

Anne-Frances, through her own hard work and the help and support of the Foundation, has changed the course of her life.

“One of the most brilliant things you can do for Belfast and Northern Ireland is to make sure kids here, who don’t have many opportunities, are enriched and uplifted and shown they can go on and further enrich their own communities and workplaces,” she says. “Doing this is truly, honestly, life-changing.”

Find out how to support the Pathway Opportunity Programme here 

To make a donation, visit https://alumni.qub.ac.uk/make-a-gift-to-queens