Lanarkshire college students wins inaugural Elaine C Smith award

This £500 prize, created by the renowned actress and New College Lanarkshire Fellow, is given to a female student in the College’s Performing Arts department who excels in comedy.

In her acceptance speech at a ceremony at the College’s Motherwell campus, Eva, who is from Livingston, expressed her heartfelt gratitude: “I am so grateful for this award and to Elaine. It’s so important that women create these opportunities so other women can follow in their footsteps and prove we can take the spotlight.”

Since completing her degree in Performing Arts in earlier this year, Eva has appeared Reconnect Theatre’s production of Macbeth at the Edinburgh festival and is currently filming a TV series and said her experience at New College Lanarkshire had been fantastic.

She said: “The most important thing I took away from my time at the College was the connections with other people—my fellow students and the lecturers. There’s a fantastic sense of community here.”

Elaine C Smith who presented Eva with a cheque and ceremonial quaich established the award to help young women from working-class backgrounds pursue careers in the arts.

She said: “I decided to start this, because I’m from the area, from Newarthill, and when I was growing up I didn’t believe anyone who spoke like me could become an Actor –Occasionally you would see a Scottish man playing a criminal!

“And when I did become an actor, I was often the only women in the room. So, I wanted to leave a trail of little sweeties for the young women coming up now – saying here’s the route, you can do this!”