BECOMING OUR BEST SELVES: A CELEBRATION OF ONE HNC
23.04.2026HNC is proud to reveal the winners of our Become Your Best Selves Awards which were hosted at the University of Huddersfield yesterday evening (Wednesday 22 April).
Now in their third year, these awards celebrate students who make our College values their lived daily reality, and in doing so are becoming their best selves. From students who have been courageous and resilient in the face of adversity and those who have stood up and spoken out about injustice to those who are passionate about being the difference in the world, the awards recognise just how special our young people are.
Following an inspiring opening address from Monty Adkins, University of Huddersfield, Marcus Smith-Connor set the scene for the evening and how guests would be able to genuinely see our College values in action. Marcus also shared more about why he had chosen to gift our award winners a copy of Lives of the Stoics by Ryan Holiday, a book Marcus felt will guide our winners on their continuing journeys to becoming their best selves!
Along with our individual ASPIRE award winners, three overarching awards were also presented – the Living Authentically Award, the overarching ASPIRE Award and the Become Your Best Self Award. Presentations were made by HNC leadership and members of our Corporation.
A full list of award winners can be found below, along with a gallery of award winners and a selection of images from their celebrating with their families.
Marcus Smith-Connor, Principal comments: “The Become Your Best Self Awards are the highlight of our HNC calendar. The evening is a genuine celebration of how our young people embody our ASPIRE values, and in doing so are becoming their best selves. The ceremony was emotional, and seeing our award winners being called to the stage and recognised in front of their guests was simply wonderful. We work to ensure that our young people understand how by living their lives authentically and in line with our values of authenticity, self-discipline, passion, innovation, respect and empathy, they will be ready for a world where much more than excellent academic qualifications are required to succeed. We would like to say a huge thank you to the University of Huddersfield for kindly hosting our event.”
Hamzah Khalifa – Authenticity
Sheraz Dara – Authenticity
Amelia Lunn – Authenticity
Freyja Thackra – Self-discipline
William Cook – Self-discipline
Tawongaishe Kuewengwa – Self-discipline
Maisha Contractor – Passion
Hannah Kelsey – Passion
Fintan Sarsfield – Passion
Isabella Harkins – Innovation
Mollie Wood – Innovation
Niamh Redfearn – Innovation
Leo Moon – Respect
Bremner Spivey – Respect
Amelie Austin-Kimmings – Respect
Muhammad Saadain – Respect
Simran Varma – Empathy
Isobel Harle – Empathy
David Itiveh- Empathy
Raymond Taiye-Dare – Empathy
Lily Atkinson – The Living Authenically Award
Billie Lancaster – The ASPIRE Award
Jack Slack – The Become Your Best Self Award
New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
